Movie Review: Shazam! (2019)

Shazam! (2019) directed by David F. Sanberg

An old wizard (Djimon Hounsou) wants to pass on his magical powers to a worthy successor, someone pure of heart and strong of will. One candidate he rejected back in the 1970s, Thad Sivana (Mark Strong), finally figures out how to get back to the magic realm. Rather than take the wizard's powers, he takes the powers of the Seven Deadly Sins, contained in a fake eye that he gladly pops into his head. Then Sivana goes after his family who have treated him badly over the years. Meanwhile, perpetual foster-child Billy Batson (Asher Angel) winds up in yet another foster home after he steals a cop car and tries for the umpteenth time to find his mom. They were separated at a carnival when he was three or four years old. He's still angry about it. The new family is nice and they take good care of him. Nonetheless he is unappreciative. On a subway ride, Billy is summoned to the magical realm where he gets the wizard's powers because there's no one else and little time left to fight the bad guy. Billy, as the hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), goes through the typical journey of discovery that every other teenage superhero goes through as he learns to use his powers and, more importantly, for what ends to use them.

The movie has a lot to recommend it. The comedic tone is refreshing for a DC Comics film. Billy cashes in on his ability as best he can before having to get serious when Sivana shows up as a bad guy with equal power. The theme of the importance of family is woven throughout the film in a natural way. The twists are fairly predictable but not in a disappointing way. The movie more than once disses Superman and Batman, who seem to be heroes that aren't around anymore. Even the setting in Philadelphia seems to be outside the DC universe, where the cities are all made up like Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, etc. Making fun of the DCEU is enjoyable though they backpedal at the last minute.

The movie also has flaws. Some of the CG is noticeably unconvincing. The villain is a bit generic. He basically wants power for its own sake and to show he is worthwhile if not worthy. He has the Seven Deadly Sins as minions though they have little recognizable attributes of the actual sins. They are just ugly monsters who are tough to fight. Some bits of the story don't flow well, as if the filmmakers deleted some connecting scenes. The film also borrows a lot of ideas from Marvel films, making it feel a little derivative.

Overall, Shazam! is a fun movie though it is the sort that I'd watch once and have no need to go back to unless someone else wanted to watch it.

Slightly recommended.