Review | Shazam! film review: entertaining DC Comics superhero is a world away from Justice League
- A teenage boy is given superpowers and an adult’s body in this fun, good-humoured story
- The film is a little long, but enjoyable with Mark Strong putting in a good supporting role
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3.5/5 stars
As they used to say on Monty Python … and now for something completely different. Shazam! may be a DC Comics superhero, but he’s a world away from Superman, Batman and the other Justice League spandex-wearers.
In fact, he’s your average Philadelphia high school kid Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel), who has spent his adolescent years in foster homes. He lives in a world where other DC heroes exist, but after an encounter with an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) he’s suddenly bestowed with his own superpowers.
Moreover, he suddenly finds he’s no longer in his teen body but in that of an adult. Played by Zachary Levi, this older Billy – or ‘Shazam’ as he will become known, a nod to the word he uses to initiate his change – must get acquainted with his powers.
Super-strength, super-speed, the ability to fly and bullet resistance, he’s like a cheeky Superman, albeit in a red outfit with a gold lightning flash. These early scenes as he hangs out with his fellow foster care friend Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) and figures out his new identity are among the film’s best, notably when he confronts two store robbers who repeatedly try and gun him down.
Directed by David F. Sandberg ( Lights Out ), the obvious film comparison is Penny Marshall’s Big, where a teenage boy is suddenly zapped into an adult’s body. This doesn’t quite have the sweetness of that film, but there are plenty of good humoured exchanges.
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There’s a fine villain in the shape of Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), who had a similar encounter with Hounsou’s bearded conjuror and now wants to capture Shazam’s powers. He doesn’t have much more of a mission than that, but Kingsman star Strong is a charismatic soul even when he doesn’t have a lot to work with. It helps here that he has a bunch of CGI demons he can call on to wreak havoc.
Sandberg and screenwriter Henry Gayden keep Shazam! colourful and light throughout; there are comparisons to be made to Spider-Man and his teen self Peter Parker and Kick-Ass’ Dave Lizewski, but this is nowhere near as angsty, violent or profane. The most poignant it gets is Billy’s perennial search for his mother, whom he was separated from at a funfair when he was little.
True, the final act drags a little – at 131 minutes, the film could be shorter – but the innocent nature of it all is hugely enjoyable.
