tWarner Bros ended their 2018 with highly successful Aquaman which was equally appreciated by critics as well as audiences . This positive reception converted into more than one billion dollars for the already successful studio . With Shazam ! releasing this Friday , the studio has cemented its position in comic book filmmaking genre . To be honest I was a bit skeptical and had reservations about the movie and the lead Zachary Levi , but the movie proved me wrong in a very straight fashion. Shazam ! is a near perfect example of the type of film-making whose first preference is the family audience itself . From the start till the very end , the movie never lets you diverge your attention to anything else . A very limited but talented cast proves that you do not always require A-listers to make a movie successful . Each and every scene of the movie is filled with humour . You know before every changing scene, a smile shall be encountered . The movie also has a strong emotional surprise in store for the audience to maintain the authenticity and the motivations of both our protagonist and antagonist . Directed by Swedish filmmaker David Sandberg , the movie sets a more tonal yardstick for the upcoming DC productions . Besides being known for horror movies like Annabelle :Creation and Lights Out , he has aced his maiden superhero film. Made on a mediocre budget for a superhero film , it provides you with plenty laugh out loud moments.
RUNDOWN :
The movie begins with an all male family on the road where the youngest of the family , Thaddeus is summoned by an old wizard to a place what looks like a temple . The wizard judges him unworthy and hence decides not to provide him with magical powers . The young boy gets adamant to get the powers but instead gets seduced by the adversary powers . Some years later , we are introduced to 14 year old Billy who is searching for his mother . He is later accommodated with a couple who basically run a foster home . Billy is then summoned by the ancient wizard who finds him true at heart and grants him with godly powers . Billy transforms into someone who is later called the champion . He and his foster family member Freddy then set out on a path to discover Billy’s full potentIal and superpowers . Their work is later halted by the adult Thaddeus now known as Doctor Sivana . Billy’s realisation of his real power is the crust of the movie .
PERFORMANCES :
Starring Zachary Levi as the titular superhero/adult Billy gives a refreshing performance which is rare for a genre like this . I was somewhat disappointed with the casting but now I realise what Warner Bros where aiming for . Levi certainly acts like a goofy ,amateur superhero who is a kid in reality . His aims and motivations are guided by an early teenage mindset . DC ma have struck gold here and found its very own version of Deadpool. Mark Strong plays the regular bad guy , here named Doctor Sivana . Mark is all in for the role and plays it with full sincerity . But the very average writing provided to his character limits the actor to show us something phenomenal . Asher Angel as the young Billy Batson plays the role with conviction which looks promising . It is Jack Dylan Grazer of IT fame who rises above others as the real star of the movie . His character Freddy can be better described as an adamant superhero nerd who never shies away to provide the hero and the audience with his unparalleled knowledge . His jokes are fresh and never look overwritten . The rest of the cast deserves a fitting nod as they lend a bridging support to the movie . There is one surprise cameo in the very end where Shazam is about to have lunch with one of DC’s heavy lifting character . What does concern me is that the special appearance did not include the actor the audience may have hoped for meaning that the studio may be done with him.
The only thing not in favour of the movie is it’s generic plot . Besides having a parallel emotional quest for the lead, the movie does nothing new in terms of the good versus bad action . You can very easily predict the plot in the second half after the characters are perfectly settled for us . Talking about that emotional connect , it is surprising and hard hitting at the same time . Not always you go to a fun movie and get a moving message . I thought the foster home angle of the story would become a drag towards the second half but it turned out to be the best part of the story . Also the whole Santa humour towards the climax looked like it was a bit forced and got unfunny at times. On the whole , the movie has enough to to relieve you from your tensions.
There happens to be no technical brilliance or marvel for the film but ask yourselves , Are you really watching the movie for its technical aspects ? The filmography is fitting and very connecting. DC movies have explored their fictional cities like Gotham and Metropolis but this one’s based in Philadelphia. The editing is also adequate. It is the direction that has done marvels for this movie.
So if you’re looking to have a fun time at the cinemas then Shazam is your movie for these couple of weeks (probably not beyond that) which is an undoubted success for DC’s attempt at making low budget comic book movies. Do not got expecting an Iron Man or Captain America with this one because the only thing this movie takes seriously is its humour . I found it like one of those movies which remain classics no matter if they released a decade ago or after .All said, Shazam is a high value entertainer which has enough to please every age section of the audience .
