Shazam! is the reward for people sticking with DC comics movies as they learned from their mistakes. Forget pity party superman. Forget Batfleck. Forget Justice League. DC is officially now the realm of 3 things: our greatest living female superhero, Little Mermaid fetish costumes, and now Zachary Levi playing a kid playing a superhero. Friendly reminder everyone: comic book movies are better when they are at least a little FUN…
After learning about how Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong, playing the bad guy again) first came into contact with The Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), we then transition to the streets of Philadelphia and young Billy Batson (Asher Angel). Billy’s ended up in Philly on the run from another foster home looking for his biological mother. Eventually, Billy is apprehended and put into another foster home run by parents Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor (Cooper Andrews) Vasquez. Billy’s new loving family includes a couple sisters (Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman), a couple brothers (Jovan Armand, Ian Chen) and a brother/new best friend Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), who’s all in on superhero studies as a primary focus for his time. One day on the run from some bullies, The Wizard summons Billy to his secret sanctum, to transfer his powers to Billy. This turns the boy into a Zachary Levi-looking crusader in a red outfit and white cape. Freddy and Shazam figure out what his powers are via a running Youtube channel, which Thaddeus happens upon; figuring out who he has to destroy to become the most powerful being in the world.
What DC forgot in all of its previous comic book adaptations is why people love superheroes in the first place. Yes, as fun as it is to see The Dark Knight prove that superhero films can be serious affairs the rival any great drama, the movies are at their best when they capture the true wonder of discovering hidden powers. Who enjoys this discovery most? Teenagers and kids right? Well, Shazam! is entirely about the joy of that type of discovery. The film’s best moments are when Billy and Freddy are testing out Shazam’s powers, coming up with awful superhero names (POWER BOY!!!), or using Shazam to buy beer or go to a Gentlemen’s Club. Watching Zachary Levi shoot lightning out of his hands to the beat of “Eye of the Tiger” is more thrilling than ANYTHING that happens in Batman vs. Superman. That’s because at the core of Shazam! is an infectious joy that every person in the theater will feel at one point or another.
The other smart move Shazam! does is it revolves its emotional story around the concept of a family. Billy and Thaddeus are not dissimilar: both are afterthoughts for the family they were born into. Until he goes true awful villain, there’s a level of tragedy to Thaddeus that makes you at least understand why he’s become who he is today; in fact, I found myself rooting for him once or twice because of how clearly abandoned and isolated he’s become, and how Envy is the deadliest of the seven sins he relates to most. Billy, in turn, is his opposite. He doesn’t run from foster families because he’s guarded: he runs to seek out the family he was given, meaning his heart is more open to letting people in. While Billy is learning his powers, the movie smartly, low key, has his foster family bail him out of jams or give him advice, even the littlest one: there’s a fight between Billy and Freddy that really hits hard on how hard it is for Freddy to be crippled and witness someone who’s fine get superpowers that almost brought a tear to my eye. Billy then comes to realize that his powers are nice, but what makes him truly a superhero are the people he cares about and care about him. Instead of the third act totally relaying on CGI battling, there’s real inspirational stuff about families sticking together that will rouse even a heart as broken as Thaddeus Sivana’s.
I don’t know where DC comics is going to go with its next adventure, or if it’s going to start reattempting the Superhero gang that failed so miserably the first time. However, it seems with Shazam! they at least have better creative talent at the helm, and a more firm grasp on what makes a superhero movie fun. Also, as clearly influenced by Big as Shazam! is, props for busting out the toy store piano!