THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The funniest thing about writing comic books is that some characters from opposing brands would share names. The best example goes to when Whiz and DC created Captain Marvel in 1940. But when Marvel made their own version of the character in 1967, the former would rename their title into Shazam! in 1972, later giving the character same name in 2011. And if you ask me, I find that to be an upgrade.
PLOT
The 2019 film follows teenage Billy Batson, who got separated from his mother at a carnival when he was four years old. He refuses to settle down with a foster family as he keeps running away in hopes to find her again. This time, he briefly settles in with Rosa and Victor Vasquez who are raising five other kids they’ve adopted: Mary Bromfield (age 18), Darla Dudley (age 10), Eugene Choi (age 12), Pedro Peña (age 15) and Freddy Freeman (age 14 like Billy). The latter of which is paraplegic and is enthusiastic of superheroes like each member of the Justice League. One day at school, Billy tries to defend Freddy from bullies, leading him to be chased away into a train station. There, he is transported to mystic temple an alternate dimension, the Rock of Eternity. It is in this secret lair where he meets the wizard Shazam that has been looking for a champion to protect the world from a deadly threat. Thaddeus Sivana has previously found the temple after a life long obsession and fusing himself with the live powerful demons of the Seven Deadly Sins (Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth and Wrath). As they hide in his eye as a vessel, Sivana used their strength to overpower the wizard that deemed him unworthy and kill his resentful family. Knowing that Sivana will cause further harm. Shazam surrenders his power to Billy to stop him and the Sins. He transfers his power to the boy by handing him staff and having him say his name. Once Billy says ‘Shazam’, he is given an adult body and the powers that follow: Solomon’s wisdom, Hercules’ strength, Atlas’ stamina, Zeus’ power, Achilles’ courage and Mercury’s speed. With the transfer complete, the wizard would unexpectedly die. Billy would share his secret with Freddy and when they learn more of his powers, they learn that he can fly, is bulletproof and can revert to his human side whenever saying ‘Shazam’. After stopping a robbery and a mugging at night, they inadvertently get caught by Darla who keeps the secret safe as well. Rather than searching for Sivana, Billy would skip school and busk for money in which Freddy would post viral videos of him further practicing his powers. Billy would only become more selfish of his abilities by busking without Freddy, which his abandonment led to more bullying. His foster brother would then call out his irresponsibility when he inadvertently puts civilians in danger. It is there where Sivana finds him first and demands him to surrender his power. This leads them to fight which causes destruction at a local mall. Billy is able to get away, but Sivana holds Freddy until meeting his foe. When Billy returns home, the rest of the foster siblings have deduced his secret persona and have helped him find his birth mother Marilyn (Caroline Palmer). He rushes himself to her when he gets the address from them, only to find himself in shock of what happened when they separated: Marilyn confesses to intentionally abandoning him at the carnival, feeling inadequate to raise him especially with his father already absent beforehand. After a heartbreaking revelation, Billy would return home when Sivana calls him out as he holds all of his siblings hostage. He agrees to surrender his power if he spares them. The transfer almost goes through at the Rock of Eternity, but his family intervenes and prevents it from happening. As they escape the temple, they find themselves at a carnival that is celebrating the holidays. Sivana and the Sins try to hunt them down, but Billy evens the odds by sharing his power with his siblings and destroying the staff. While they fight five of the sins at the carnival, Billy is able to isolate himself in a fight against Sivana and Envy. He is able to outsmart them long enough to remove the Sins’ vessel from his eye, making his foe powerless. With his siblings protecting civilians at the carnival, Billy would end the battle by capturing the Sins into the vessel and returning them to their prison in the Rock of Eternity. As the family’s superhero personas are hailed as heroes, they agree to have the temple as their headquarters. The morning after their triumph, Billy starts embracing his family and surprises Freddy by not only joining him for lunch in his super form as promised, but invited Superman (Ryan Hadley) to join him as well for the occasion. The film ends in a post credit scene, showing a now imprisoned Sivana form an alliance with in an intelligent talking caterpillar, having the intent to gain access of the Seven Realms of Magic.
THOUGHTS
I was invited to an advanced screening thanks to a close friend of mine and boy did we have a blast seeing it before others. Director David F Sandberg definitely shook up the DCEU at the time by creating a story that was so fun to witness throughout. He just knew my funny bone and had me bawling with laughter the majority of the runtime. Just seeing a mall Santa run away from the madness just gets me every Due to his experience wth horror, hence spotting the Annabelle doll 9 minutes into it, he definitely knew how to also get us on the edge of our seat with the creepy Seven Deadly Sins, all of which were frighteningly voiced by Steve Blum, Fred Tatasciore and Darin De Paul. With the visual effects doing them justice, they also make the fight scenes at the carnival and mall standout. Like the various superhero movies that have been released in between, the big payoff goes to its heartfelt messages spread throughout, which we catch on to thanks to a diverse ensemble. The lead Asher Angel shows Billy as a boy who seeks family from who he lost. His determination to reunite with his mother originally made him a rebel difficult to tolerate. When he found out the hard way of what happened with his mother, he finally understood that family can be chosen instead of assigned because a true family is all about giving love to one another and being there by your side. The proof of having a heart pure enough to become the wizard's champion originates to how he is willing to be there for others as he deeply wanted his mother to, hence defending Freddy before becoming champion. And throughout, we are treated with a hilarious performance out of Zachary Levi who owns the youth of a teen like he was Tom Hanks in Big. He is what makes me laugh non stop as his comedic timing is excellent. Whether he is singing "Lightning with My Hands" to 'Eye of the Tiger', charging a phone through a zap of a finger, getting free hot wings at a strip club or having multiple mishaps as he figures out how to fly, I'm laughing louder than I normally would. While channeling the youth, Levi also captures the fear Billy feels when trying to figure himself out and push come to shove, he realized that he's a good person reaching fully potential. It was honestly pretty smart of him to share his powers with his family because he knew being a hero can't always be done alone. The true satisfaction of that comes from the understanding that when we have power, it's better to build people up with it rather than them down. And it was even for them to have this power anyway since each of them are pure of heart. I didn't think the Shazam Family would emerge within this film, but it fit in so well I love that it happened. Going into the fellow members, Jack Dylan Grazer makes Freddy a relatable character for being a superhero fan that strives to fit in. Having an interest in the Justice League was important for him because he admires how people see them and he wants to be seen as they are since his physical disability doesn't make him feel such. He can be sarcastic about it and make the best of it, but it wasn't always enough for him and he was able to hit it off with Billy because he noticed him. Aside from Adam Brody being a good choice for his super counterpart, the second he gets his powers with the others is furthermore satisfying that he can walk fine with that form. I'm pretty sure we all had a soft spot Darla since her being the youngest, Faithe Herman made her positive attitude so damn adorable. And Meagan Good was another great addition to be her super doppelgänger, matching her as well. I'm still laughing how she was trying to talk to Santa during the carnival fight after already saving him. I love the irony how she uses mostly super speed when she is slower than the other siblings. I had such a kick out of Eugene due to Ian Chen expressing his relatable clumsiness. I'm not gonna stop laughing when he botched his use of nunchucks. And his adult counterpart Ross Butler had me rolling when he shouted 'Hadouken' from Street Fighter since that reminded of the gamer that the kids is supposed to be. I didn't mind Pedro either because I even related to being the silent one in the group Jovan Armand expressed. He also happened to be a perceptive since he was the one that considered helping Billy when he found his notebook. Had he not done that, Billy would never have accepted the truth of his mother. I even dug the irony that he was at his most vocal when in his super form, played by DJ Cotrona. Aside from Freddy, the only other sibling that seemed to have more maturity than Billy was the one already becoming an adult, Mary. Due to her being the oldest, Grace Fulton expressed her to be the most collected that preferred putting others before herself. It's easy to respect that since it shows how humble she is. I don't blame her hesitance on going to college because she doesn't want to forget about the family she got to make. Due to the power she now shares, she knows for sure that'll never happen. Speaking of which, Michelle Borth was another good choice as the adult doppelgänger because she actually resembles her younger counterpart. Of course none of these kids would have such pure hearts without the best parents they could ask for. Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans instantly make us like Victor and Rosa for being foster parents that actually care. Due to their experience as orphans, they know what it's like to be alone and don't want kids to ever feel unloved. We need more foster parents like these onscreen god damn it. Although previously playing King Ricou in Aquaman, Djimon Hounsou arguably upgrades his presence in the DCEU when playing the titular wizard. This is a character who is wise enough to make the decisions that matter the most when danger is at hand. He may have been harsh on Sivana when it came to deeming him an unworthy champion, but after making a bad choice of out of Black Adam last time, it's better to be unmerciful than hesitant. Last but not least, with a hero that has a pure heart, it is logical to go up against a villain that doesn't have that at all. I originally wished Mark Strong had gotten to play Lex Luthor in the DCEU, but the role of Dr. Sivana was a worthy substitute. Throughout his time, he owned it playing a cynical figure whose vulnerability originates from lifelong neglect. With a family that never loved him, it only motivated him to vindictive in his path to power. Seeing his journey taught me that rejection does not always define people. The difference Billy had with him is that he never let that feeling consume him and chose to move forward. Knowing that, it was a no brainer for someone as consumed as Sivana to lose. It is a shame that the sequel Fury of the Gods might not further explore his allegiance with the intelligent caterpillar Mister Mind, voiced by Sandberg, because that would've been intriguing to witness. This movie is always hella fun to get through, but even one as good as this has its own set of issues. For example, I understand that Shazam needs to test possible contenders to be his champion and part of the test includes challenging their temptation, but why have the Sins in the main hallway? If he wants to build up contenders that they got to resist them, he should have the Sins placed in a totally private tunnel to give anticipation to resist. It is crazy that the Sins were powerful enough to message Sivana through his 8 Ball, but how is the only one to get a message like that? Multiple people encountered Shazam, so it’s surprising they didn’t bring up that either. That’s more confusing than how we never see how do the Sins know that Shazam got a new champion. I know we need bullies to root for protagonists, but god I hate the Breyers. I know Billy hilariously destroys their car, but there should’ve charges pressed on them when they hit Freddy. His siblings were witnesses so that should’ve followed through. I get that we need comedic tension for Freddy to discover Billy’s situation, but Billy should’ve gently raised the sign to the window rather than smacking it. I mean that’s begging for Victor and Rosa’s attention. Also, how come no one goes nuts seeing Billy in super form at the mall? Everyone was staring at him in the subway station and Freddy just starting posting videos about him, so he should be insta famous at this point. I love Victor and Rosa, but do they these kids’ rooms? Billy and Freddy got a lot of shit in more than a day. I know they want these kids to trust them as loving parents, but even I would notice their video game stash when the door is open from at least one inch or two. Yes their door was closed when they were playing, but you know I’m trying to say they shouldn’t be oblivious, especially how they missed the news that showed Freddy talking to Billy in super form. I admit I was laughing my ass of when Billy gets hit by a truck once he figured out how to fly, but that truck should’ve tried to slow down because it didn’t look like it did. Of course it’s makes sense for the tension to keep going once Sivana threatens Billy’s family, but how did Freddy get to the mall so fast? He’s crippled, so it’s hard to believe he got there just when Billy got away. I really don’t want to overthink this one, but how did Sivana know the kids headed to the strip club to escape from him? It’s hard for me to believe he imagined the same one. And why does it not count to turn to a super form when saying ‘Shazam’ underwater? I feel saying it however should count. Other than that, this movie remains awesome everytime. In conclusion, Shazam! is indeed one of the better films to come from the DCEU by balancing its heartwarming tone in a wild environment. If you like superheroes and would like to change up your Christmas marathon, check this out.
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