Quick Reviews: Shazam (2019)

As Marvel made Captain Marvel a smash hit, DC tried to do the same with theirs.  Would there's do as well?

Oddly, the Film focuses first on the origin story of its Villain, using a flashback to set up his conflict and later anger.

Billy Batson here is an orphan who just wants to find his Mom.  What he actually finds is...

The busiest Comic Book Movie Actor at the moment- Djimon Honsou.

He plays the Wizard Shazam here, but was also a Fishman in Aquaman and reprised his role from GotG in Captain Marvel!  Yep, he was in BOTH Captain Marvel Films!

Now imbued with great power due to his being pure of heart, Billy...proceeds to exploit his new position.

I guess Shazam really was desperate, to be fair...

Unfortunately for him, Dr. Sivana gets powers (as SPOILed by every Trailer) and a very familiar-looking battle ensues.

"Hey Steve, I have these unused Story Boards from Man of Steel in my desk.  Want to use them?"
"Hell yeah!"

Can the power of unity and family save the day?  Will Shazam become a better person?  Did this do well-enough to get a proper Sequel?

To find out the answer, watch the Film.  It's now on HBO, so it's even easier to see.

A curious, interesting Film.  In parts, it plays out like a fairly route Superhero Film.  Hero has trouble, gains powers, gains more troubles and then solves his problems.  Beneath that surface, we have a Film that actually puts the Villain's initial plight into perspective first.  Granted- it's another 'Villain is a dark, mirror image of the Hero' thing.  Granted- he's somewhat relatable...until all of the murder.  There are some interesting ideas that sort of hover around the story, but aren't exactly addressed.  The arc of our Hero is kind of an odd one too.  He goes from closed off to getting the powers...and kind of becoming a jerk.  It takes a little too long for my taste.  The little bits- again- that happen are sometimes interesting, but just not enough.  They stand out as little highlights, but also in contrast to how cliché the whole thing can be.  When the Film tries to be different, it's nice.  It's a shame that it just defaults to the norm so much.  Shazam has some good moments and an overall good message.  It just doesn't do that much to be unique and has some odd issues with Tone.  Hopefully it looks better as time goes by than this shot...

Considering the clout of hero, the Film is kind of confusing.  It can't quite nail the 'fantasy fulfillment' tone, nor does it quite hit 'family friendly' or 'serious.'