Shazam movie review

MOVIE TITLE: SHAZAM

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL: Are you getting superhero fatigue? I hear you. I don’t read comic books and it can be confusing trying to keep up with all of these characters. Some people are describing this new superhero film as Big meets Superman: The Movie . It’s directed by Swedish David F. Sandberg, who has had a lot of success in horror movies like Annabelle Creation and Lights Out . Seems like an odd choice for a director, right? Thankfully, SHAZAM is a lighthearted, bouncy movie, although you can actually see the creepy Annabelle doll in a store window in this movie. Surprisingly, it was also seen in Aquaman.

This film is very self-aware, which is what provides most of the humor and schtick. If you like poking fun at superhero movies, you might actually like this one.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

- Some profanity
- Your kids are probably going to want to buy a Magic 8-ball.
- Some images might be too scary for young kids.
- Bullying
- Shazaam and a boy drink beer and instantly spit it out, saying it tastes like vomit.
- Shazaam steals money out of an ATM. Not cool. We’re supposed to admire superheroes, right? Also, that’s something Deadpool would do. Shazam is kind of a PG-13 DC Comics version of Marvel’s Deadpool

Handicapped kid
Santa Claus acts like a coward and has a total potty-mouth (which gets bleeped out)
Lots of violence and destruction. Duh. It’s a superhero movie.
You might need to talk to your young kids about foster homes and why some children might stay there.
There are a couple of scenes where people go into a strip bar. You don’t see inside though, although various comments are made about what happens inside.

THEMES:

Family
‘You do you.” – Shazaam
“With your heart, you unlock your greatest power.” – Wizard (Djimon Hounsou)
“What good is power if you got no one to share it with?” – Shazaam

THINGS I LIKED:

I’ve always liked Zachary Levi and thought he was fantastic as our SHAZAM superhero. He stole every scene he was in, although we have to wait 49 minutes to finally see him in the movie! When I first learned he was going to play this superhero, I knew the movie would be light and fun. He even put on 20 pounds of muscle to play this role. I absolutely adored him in the popular TV show Chuck: Seasons 1 to 5 the Complete Series [Blu-ray] and the animated movie Tangled. Comic book fans will remember he played Fandral in Thor: The Dark World
Mark Strong gives us an intense villain as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. He was dressed like a smart, evil villain and he looked great flying. It was cool how he opened doors. He was in other comic book movies, such as Kick-Ass and Green Lantern (2011).
It was fun to see John Glover cast in the movie since he was the voice of the RIDDLER in Batman: The Complete Animated Series Deluxe Limited Edition [Blu-ray] and a character in Superman’s Smallville: The Complete Series. Unfortuately, I felt he overacted in almost every scene though.
The kids were great: Asher Angel (Billy Batson), Jack Dylan Gracer (Freddy Freeman), and adorable Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley.
The heart and soul of this movie is the storyline about the foster family. Cooper Andrews plays such a warm, good-natured foster dad. His wife, played by Marta Milans makes you really hope there are foster parents like that out there.
I loved Darla’s enthusiasm and cheerfulness. My mother’s name is Darla too. She was named after the character from the Little Rascals movies. Meagan Good was really believable as the grown-up Darla. Super cute. All of the adult versions of the foster kids were spot-on.
Some fun humor.
Super cute ending.
There is a quick moment in the toy store fight scene when Shazam races by a giant keyboard on the floor and starts to tap a tune, reminding me of the magical scene in Big with Tom Hanks. I love that movie. It also features a boy who turns into a man in an instant.
This film is an origin story for both Shazam and Black Adam.
If you love Easter eggs, look for the tiger references. Bill Batson talks about how much he likes tigers and later you see him hand a tiger stuffed animal to a frightened girl. Did you notice that his Shazam cape clasps had tigers on them? All of the tiger references are to give a respectful nod to Mr. Tawky Tawny, who was a magical tiger in the original comic books. There are quite a few Captain Marvel moments which underline the controversy around the Shazam character that has Marvel roots, such as the Crocodile-Men and especially the running joke about what Shazam’s superhero name is. Shazam said to Dr. Sivana, “Gee Whiz, mister!” alluding to the fact that his character first appeared in Whiz comics in 1940.
The marketing campaign did a great job keeping so much of the story hidden.
The film features landmarks in the historic city of Philadelphia, although much of the movie was actually made in Toronto, Canada.
Kind of a spoiler: The name “Shazam” is an acronym that lists the names of the gods that give him his powers: Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage), Mercury (speed).
Keep watching the screen during the final credits for some sneak peek action!
Very good special effects.
The board room scene was really great, although it might be too scary for young children.
Some of the snarky humor felt like Deadpool humor. For example, the flying “stand-off” scene where the villain starts monologuing while a mile away from Shazam was so funny. Shazam says, “What? Did you just say something? I can see your mouth moving.”

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It seems like this movie should have come out at Christmas time because of all the Christmas scenes in it.
Weird beginning. There are simply too many kids to know what’s going on and which kids we need to really pay attention to.
Billy Batson is a thief. The wizard says he’s pure of heart and truly good. What the what? Even Shazam steals things.
We really don’t know what’s going on until 34 minutes into the movie when there is a long exposition scene.
The musical score doesn’t always match with what we’re seeing. The tonal shifts seemed off.
I really like Djimon Hounsou, but I could hardly see the wizard’s face because he was either covered with so much hair or the camera filmed him from too far away.
The seven deadly sins could have been developed more. The ending tease with “Envy” was well done though.
Shazam was way more interesting and fun than his younger self as Billy Batson.

FUNNY LINES:
* “Your phone is charged…” – Shazaam

“I don’t believe in violence, but I think we should really kick this guy’s butt.” – adult Darla (Meagan Good)

INTERESTING LINES:

“You can’t go crying to other people all the time.” – Mr. Sivana (John Glover)
A man needs to know when to stand up for himself.” – Mr. Sivana
“Only the purest of hearts can resist temptations.” – Wizard
“Most people don’t feel like a hero inside.” – Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Gracer)
“Family is more than just a word.” – advertisement
“All you do is show off and be a bully.” – Freddy

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