Whatever god you pray to, take a moment tonight to thank him for this film. In my case, I pray to David F. Sandberg and his incredible revitalization of the DC cinematic universe. Shazam! is an amazing superhero film that taps into the pure heart and joy of childhood that any audience member can adore. Breaking the trend of darker themes and doom and gloom that has become symbolic with DC films, this movie is such a refreshing break from that tone and proof that this cinematic universe has found its feet and is heading in the right direction. Paired with such energetic performances and an adorable story, I have never felt this delightful about a DC film since Christopher Reeves' Superman days.
Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a foster kid who always runs from the families assigned to him, scared of making a lasting kind of connection. After hesitantly befriending the kids of a new foster home, he runs away yet again but finds himself stuck in a strange land and gains the power of the mystical wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). Learning to harness his powers as a goofy adult (Zachary Levi) and balance his family life, Billy also learns he must stop the evil supervillain Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), who wants to take his powers from him once and for all. The writing in this film from Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke was the most extraordinary aspect. Based on the characters of the same names from DC Comics, Shazam may be one of the most powerful and flamboyant superheroes but is unfortunately much lesser-known. The balance in this film between the source content of the comics and the screenplay is what makes this story stand out so much. Not once was the audience left behind in a state of confusion after introducing something random solely for the sake of pleasing deep-cut comic fans; in fact, the simplicity of this film is what makes it so successful. The age-old tale of good vs. evil was introduced early on in great backstory for Sivana while paving the way for Batson's story as well. Sivana never wanted world domination or for humanity to end, he just wanted Shazam's powers as he felt he had been wronged as a kid. Because of that, this movie felt much more small-scale than other superhero films of this time and that honestly was a perfect choice.
Sandberg's directing makes for the pure joy that emanates from this film. He was able to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of a kid turning into a superhero and the little wonders that come with that. Without pandering too much to children or too much to adults, his balance of this tone was amazing. Zachary Levi and Asher Angel's performances only added to this as well. Both of these actors playing the same character were such a good match with each other and their chemistry was so tight that I could not even tell when either of them took over. The pure, fun energy that radiated from them during so many of this film's child-like and wondrous scenes was so exciting to see. This also is aided by the movie's quick editing from Michael Aller and the bright colors of the production design from Jennifer Spence. Along with Aquaman, this movie is undoubtedly the brightest and most colorful of the DC films, which just gives a nice extra layer of hope for this studio's future films.
The best element of this film, however, is the tender message behind the superhero action of it all. This movie follows the life of Billy as he tries to track down his mom, who he believes simply lost him as a child. Once he finds out that she purposely didn't think she would be able to care for him, his sense of true family becomes shattered. However, with the addition of the other foster kids in the home that Billy is put into, he is able to find the true family that he knows he can love and trust. Not only does this movie shed much-needed light on the foster system, but the way that this family interacts is also so genuinely wholesome. Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary (Grace Fulton), Darla (Faithe Herman), Eugene (Ian Chen), and Pedro (Jovan Armand), fostered by parents Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor (Cooper Andrews) are all such good choices for their roles and made such an authentic and diverse family. Along with a few humorous scenes that tied their lives together, Billy is able to find his home with them. This message of finding your true family is beautiful and never ceases to warm your heart. I also had no idea that the Shazam family would be making their appearance either, so that was such a pleasant and well-earned surprise.
Shazam! is pure, comic book joy and such a refreshing break from the dark days of superheroes in both the Marvel and DC cinematic universes. Levi and Angel are fantastic as the role of Billy Batson and the endearing message behind this movie never fails to miss its mark. I would strongly, strongly suggest this film (even if you're not a superhero fan), as it provides one of the most fun times one could have in a movie theater.
My Rating: ★★★★
No comments:
Post a Comment