We are entering the age of B-list superhero movies. Fresh off the heels of Aquaman and Captain Marvel comes Shazam (the original Captain Marvel) – a hero not quite as popular as his other Justice League-mates (if he even joins the League in this universe) but popular enough to have a smash summer hit.
Shazam tells the origin story of its titular character. In itself, it’s not the usual character-chances-upon-powers-and-becomes-a-superhero trope. What Shazam brings to the table is that the main character is literally a child who has to cope with family issues and adult superhero stuff at the same time. It is quite interesting to watch as we as an audience cannot really expect the main character, Billy Batson, to always do what’s “smart and practical”. It’s quite refreshing for the audience to see a character do something obviously selfish or “dumb” then double-take since they have to remember that it is an adolescent in the spotlight.
Asher Angel is commendable on his portrayal of Billy Batson. He manages to pull off a cool, sassy teenager without sounding too edgy or trying too hard. He also matches well with Zachary Levi‘s childish Shazam so it actually feels like they’re the same person. Zachary on the other hand is literally Chuck having his wish come true of becoming a superhero and I am 100% here for it. Mark Strong (Not Stanley Tucci) does his Dr. Sivana so well, I wish he could’ve been Luthor instead. Jack Dylan Grazer‘s Freddy really reminds me of a pre-pubescent Stiles Stilinski of the Teen Wolf fame – just as annoying and snarky, but just as funny and endearing as well.
Despite the many nods and cameos from the DCEU, Shazam however belongs to an era of DCEU movies that are pegged to be solo movies, rather than being made to be part of the Justice League. This is in light of DCEU’s history of doing fine but not as great as a competitor to the “other” comic book movie franchise. Most of the blame of this was put on DC‘s efforts to emulate the “Snyder” treatment in everything, making them a little too dark and gritty. Aquaman was the first movie to break this formula by going back to DC’s natural charm of telling the story, labors of mythical heroes style – no dwelling and sulking on damaged human backgrounds, just some background lore for context juxtaposed to an epic quest to showcase the godly beings that DC heroes are. Leave the dark, misunderstood human narrative to the other company. Shazam steps away from the dark Snyder tones as well as it is very lighthearted and family-oriented, giving you major “This should’ve been a Christmas movie” vibes.
Something I’d like to point out though is that since (spoiler alert) the movie ends with Billy‘s family becoming a literal super family, it significantly diminishes Shazam‘s need to join the Justice League. I am aware that in some versions of the comics, he does eventually join, but the entire theme of the movie is that all Shazam/Billy really needs is his family, and if they were to respect this plotline, the only time Shazam can join JL is if something happens to said family. I don’t see Shazam joining JL with the super family either as it heavily saturates the team with Shazam characters (who aren’t even that unique by themselves).
While I do find Shazam extremely fun to watch, the movie itself is a like a local highway filled with holes in logic and consistency. Scenes are laid out in sequence as if they are the only logical outcomes, serving only to drive a specific narrative, but when on closer inspection, spells out a different story altogether. The Wizard, for instance, has been in search for a champion to carry on the Shazam legacy and has been casting a search spell, inviting people onto the Rock of Eternity. He also has the very specific requirement that only the “pure of heart” has the capability of inheriting these powers, and yet it has been shown that the he has failed to find someone worthy – the people he invites falling to temptation of the Sins minutes upon arriving and repeats this failure at least over 50 times in the course of 30 years (not even counting those Sivana failed to reach for his initial research). What makes it even funny is the Sins have found their champion in Sivana after he returns after 3 decades and the Wizard still has nothing to show for it. So does the search spell really find worthy candidates or is it just a random search spell? Was Billy really worthy or was the Wizard just desperate? It’s also worth mentioning to note that the Sins weren’t even there to tempt Billy as they 6 had for the other candidates. There are also several storylines that were acknowledged but were never really addressed much or given closure, such as Mary’s indecision to go through college or Freddy’s self-worth problems. I know that they’re not exactly major plotlines in themselves and could very well be addressed in the next installment, but it’s just not good storytelling to leave the audience who looks into it with more questions.
All in all, Shazam is a very enjoyable movie as both a solo film and an eventual addition to the DCEU. It follows on Aquaman‘s lead of doing its own thing. It also did good in targeting kids and families that might have been alienated by the previous DC movies’ grit and dark themes. Its screenplay may be a bit problematic but that is easily overlooked by how funny and exciting the action in the movie is.