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Every part of this adventure is tethered to that idea, even as Henry Gayden’s clever script gradually turns it inside out; everyone feels taunted by their own potential, even as no one has the ability to fulfill it on their own. There are any number of movies about the magic of family — whether it’s the ones people are given, or the ones they find for ourselves — but each time Billy yells “Shazam!,” we’re reminded of something that Thaddeus hears on one of those godforsaken elevator TVs: “Family is more than just a word.” A lot more, it turns out.
Director Sandberg, who might have seemed a left-field choice for the assignment considering that his previous credits are the horror films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, infuses the jaunty proceedings with just enough scariness to garner the film a PG-13 rating and satisfy older viewers.
Because while Shazam! might avoid many of the pitfalls that usually define DCEU offerings, there remains an insistence that more is more and since this is essentially a kids movie, dragging the plot out to a flabby 132 minutes is a staggering misjudgment. The finale, while admirably self-contained and small-scale, grinds on for far too long, a boring escalation of anti-climaxes that cumulatively dull the intended emotional impact. It’s a film in need of a tighter edit with a script in need of a sharper polish, an imperfect franchise-launcher that nonetheless represents significant progress for DC.
Shazam! embraces the the absurd gaggle of elements in Billy Batson’s origin story — subway rides; wizards; a mixture of figures from Christianity, Judaism, and Greek mythology; a hero who wears a marching band cape — and succeeds by never spending a moment acting like anyone would consider them absurd at all. I would argue that it does this in an even more compelling way than Aquaman, despite the fact that Shazam! has to juxtapose its fantastical elements with downtown Philadelphia.
Shazam! is an unapologetically buoyant triumph of a superhero movie.
But, really, the high-flying showdowns and the holiday-themed action-packed finale (which is highly satisfying, though it goes on a bit too long) are secondary. "Shazam!” works because of its emphasis on friendship and family: Mrs. Vasquez has a bumper sticker that reads “I’m a foster mom: What’s your superpower?” that sums up the film's overall warm-hug vibe.
Yet Shazam!'s greatest strength is knowing superheroes were created as a wish fulfilment fantasy for lonely adolescents, and is all the more enjoyable when putting them centre stage.
The hardest power to depict onscreen is the wisdom of Solomon, but Shazam! makes clever decisions, mixing middle school snark with disarming sweetness. And — yes — it delivers the requisite lightning-strike punch-’em-ups with considerable force
A fun-filled superhero film that has a lot in common with Tom Hanks's Big.
If the “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman” movies represented DC Comics’ first big-screen steps away from the austere color palette of the Zach Snyder movies, “Shazam!” takes us deeply into primary colors in a single bound. There’s still a touch of urban decay and kitchen-table warmth on display — this is by no means Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” or a candy-colored Cartoon Network production — but this new DC entry has a lovely lightness, both in the visuals and in its tone.
“Shazam!,” on the other hand, is just a light, funny, grounded, engagingly unpretentious sleight-of-hand action comedy about a boy in a (super)man’s body. The movie, in other words, is “Big” in tights. And it’s Zachary Levi who makes that work, in much the same way that Tom Hanks did.
Awesome! Fingers crossed for more good reviews.
Lucky! At least I got Batman the Animated Series till then.
I'm on my own rewatch of that at the moment.
I feel the film does open a little rough with several expository set-up/background scenes, but once you're past those, it's a great time. Also, the digital body doubles were a bit wonky at times, but for a modestly budgeted superhero film, its easier to forgive.
There was some excellent casting in this movie. The three main characters all do very well. Zachary Levi nailed the concept of a child in an adult's body. Jack Dylan Grazer was hilarious and the perfect sidekick to Levi. Asher Angel was tasked with performing some of the more emotional scenes and he did them well. Though I do wish he showed more of the personality that Levi exhibited as his adult counterpart. Sometimes its hard to believe they were the same character. The foster kids we perfectly cast as well and I loved their dynamic. Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley always got laughs.
There is plenty more to talk about but I'll wait until more people see it.
A unique opinion from a unique filmmaker.
sorry both Pennyworth and Joker I am passing on
https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2019/03/29/jai-courtney-says-hes-coming-back-for-the-suicide-squad
Bruce Willis made him look like the most lifeless human being in that film, quite an achievement in itself. ;-)
I had honestly forgotten that. I was about to ask when they cast anybody in Die Hard 6.
I actually thought he was pretty good in Jack Reacher, but that's probably because he was cast appropriately for a role that didn't require him to be anything other than a nasty, blank eyed scowler.
Haha, completely forgot that :-))! But I don´t remember anything much from that film...
Let me know how it is
Trailer coming tomorrow.
Hopefully the trailer is good/great. Tarantino’s new film also had terrible posters before they dropped a kick-ass trailer.