WHOA
Shazam was an explosive and funny experience from beginning to end. It was dynamic and fun and kept me entertained the entire time. I would absolutely watch Shazam again and again. If I’m being totally honest, I hope that (if there ever is a new movie) Green Lantern is given the same treatment as Shazam, because seeing my favorite superhero like that would make me so happy! That’s not to say there weren’t a few flaws, but overall it was an excellent movie. There was a lot of heart and a lot of humor. There will be some spoilers in the review ahead!
Mark Strong as Dr. Sivana
Say My Name
We are introduced to a lot fairly quickly, including the Wizard and the Seven Deadly Sins. The Wizard guards the Sins and only the pure of heart can take the mantle to protect the world from them. The Wizard is slowly dying and needs a successor, cue our introduction to our villain Sivana. Not being pure of heart, Dr. Sivana, rejected and angry, returns to the world. This sets him off and he continues on a wild goose hunt for thirty some years and finally returns and takes the Sins for himself.
I actually really like Dr. Sivana as a villain. He was clear in his motives and really just was pure evil. When he returns to take the Sins for himself he even tells the Wizard that he is not pure of heart and he becomes the perfect weapon and host for the Sins. His father’s hatred for him really fueled his anger and did so in a manner that made him so reckless and uncaring that he was going to hurt children! I also like that without the Sins he was just a man, an evil man, but a man. It made him vulnerable and beatable!
Shazam’s antics
Never Ending Laughs
I know that some people might not have liked Shazam, but they cannot deny how hilarious it is. It did not miss a beat and even made some dark topics feel light-hearted. For example, the flawed foster system and child abandonment. There was a great amount of heart in Shazam too. Let’s not forget to mention how great the acting was; Billy, Freddie, Darla, all of the kids blew me away with their talent!
There were a few silly moments when the kids were all adults and still acting like kids, but that felt right for the way the movie is. Imagine being a 14-year-old and becoming an adult, what the heck would you have done? … EXACTLY! Billy did what any 14-year-old would have! Also, when Dr. Sivana was giving his huge villain speech and Shazam couldn’t hear him and was just saying “what” over and over was hilarious and probably one of my favorite gags in the whole movie.
There was a small bit of lag to the final act and that’s literally the only critique I have. When they got to the fair I expected it to be a bunch of crazy action scenes, but it felt a bit slow. They had a lot of action but it felt slightly muted. The Sins looked great, but I wanted more fighting and intense action from their fight. Dr. Sivana and Shazam had a great battle, but they really could have given the rest of the characters more time. We did see a little bit of each of their abilities and maybe that was on purpose so they can have more room to grow in a sequel, but still! I wanted more!
Freddie and Shazam
Overall
I genuinely enjoyed Shazam. I thought that this it was an amazing breath of fresh air to the DC Universe and honestly, I felt like Geoff Johns having a say in it really helped it be more light-hearted and fun. If you read his run on Shazam it feels very similar to the movie (I’m a hardcore Geoff Johns fangirl). The CGI was great and there was only one small moment that I could see some funky CGI.
I loved the “coming of age” feeling that Shazam has and considering Zachary Levi is just a grown up kid made him absolutely perfect to play Billy. The fact that Billy had such a strong character arc shows how attentive they were to making this a good origin story, instead of just a “oh here’s this character” kind of thing. He learns and grows up with his powers and because of his new family he really masters them. Freddie as his “manager” was a great way to show that Billy could not have done it on his own. Freddie truly understood Superheroes and what it took to be one. Billy’s foster family was there for him from the beginning and truly helped him grow up and become someone who really was worthy to be Shazam! I absolutely recommend this movie to everyone!
For more Superhero fun:
Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Subscribe to our newsletter!
