Shazam! (2019) – Movie Review

The Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, the Speed of Mercury.

His name: Captain Sparkle-fingers.

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a 14-year-old troublemaker who has seen the ins and outs of the foster care system and is searching for his real mother. He finds himself in yet another foster home with a new foster family and, after a bumpy subway ride, is selected by a weakened wizard to inherit his powers and become his champion. To do this, he must speak the Wizard’s name – Shazam – and is then transformed into an adult version of himself (Zachary Levi) in a bright red and yellow costume with superpowers. But Billy soon learns that Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), a man who was rejected by the wizard as being pure of heart, has embraced the power of the Seven Deadly Sins and will stop at nothing to steal the powers of Shazam.

Shazam! was funny, heart-warming and very enjoyable. Throughout the movie, along with the help of his trusty hero manager Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Billy learns more about his powers and what it means to be a hero, and the true meaning of family. It’s nice to see a more light-hearted film from DC and I thought they portrayed the character on-screen very well. My only real issue was that when Billy transformed into Shazam, his personality seemed different. As Shazam, he was excited about everything and having a great time learning to be a hero with Freddy, but as Billy, he was more of just a withdrawn teenager. I couldn’t really imagine young Billy talking or acting like he did when he was Shazam.

I really enjoy when less popular superheroes get their time to shine. Instead of just the mainstream heroes, like Batman and Superman, there are so many cool and interesting comic characters, in both Marvel and DC, that are ripe with potential. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been pretty excited about Shazam! for a while now, and it did not disappoint. I’m also a fan of Zachary Levi from Chuck. He just seems like such a genuine and down-to-earth actor doing what he loves. In getting to play a 14-year-old transformed into an adult, he essential just gets to play himself in real life.

Overall, this was a great movie and I really enjoyed it. I would rate it 4 ½ stars and recommend going to check it out if you haven’t already.