MOVIE REVIEW: Shazam
(Spider Training - Daniel Pemberton)
In the world of comic book movies, there's just no arguing that DC has been playing second fiddle to Marvel since 2008's appearance of Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man. The only exception to this, as many have noted, were the Nolan Batman movies.
One thing you can't fault DC for is their persistence. In spite of decidedly unheroic box office returns, they keep trying new things to try and ignite a spark that will start a much larger fire.
Their most recent attempt, Aquaman, showed significant promise, yet it still lacked in a number of areas that kept it from being a true monster on the silver screen. You watched Aquaman, were prepared to acknowledge that it was one of DC's best attempts to date, and was a 'Decent movie.'. Heck, I'd go so far as to say it was a 'Good movie'.
Has DC finally gotten to 'great' with Shazam?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Uh....sort of? Ish?
THE LONG VERSOIN:
There was a remarkable amount of poor decision-making on DC's part to be had where this movie was concerned. They did reasonably well with Wonder Woman and The Justice League, and went on from there to steadily improve with Aquaman. Then, rather than working with any of the other IPs that they introduced within The Justice League....they went somewhere far more obscure. We've seen that this can be done with comic movies; Credit where it's due, Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy is a perfect example of this. Marvel had the time to develop their talent before they made this move, however, and they made it work because they brought all of that talent to bear.
My biggest issue with 'Shazam' is the fact that it was too bold of a step forward for a company that clearly didn't have its recipe perfected yet. Actually, that really describes Shazam perfectly.
It feels under baked.
You can stop reading here with a quote from my very good friend, Aaron: "I give it a 6.5 out of 10."
If you're interested in why, let's talk about that recipe shall we?
STORY
Shazam serves as the origin story for Captain Marvel. No, not that Captain Marvel. It's a different Captain Marvel. Technically, it's the FIRST Captain Marvel, since DC's Captain showed up as early as 1940, while Marvel's Captain didn't show up until 1969. It's a fantastically convoluted history that's somehow led us to this moment.
Captain Marvel, who I shall henceforth refer to as 'Shazam' in order to keep from confusing myself, is actually a 14 year old foster child named Billy Batson. An ancient wizard decides that Billy is a good guy and grants him the magical powers of Soloman, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. Hence the name Shazam. That's seriously how they explain that name away. Once Billy gets his powers, the rest of the movie is about a kid messing around with his powers.
I'd love to say there's more than that, and there is....just not very much. At all. 'Shazam' leans heavily on the experiences of being a foster child in order to form both its hero and its villain, Dr. Thaddeus Silvana. We'll talk about him more in a minute. The movie spends almost its entire run trying to build up story for the hero, which wouldn't be a problem except that it sort of...fails to build a story. By the time you realize this, it's time for the movie's third act, and you're not nearly as invested as you should have been. 'Shazam's story isn't bad, it's just ... well, it's under baked. Unrefined.
This is really even more unfortunate because the scripting in this movie is really approaching Marvel levels of sharp. It's not quite there yet, but the tightness that some of the jokes and one-liners come off with shows that they're absolutely getting better. Aquaman was a funny flick, and this movie was even more entertaining in that regard.
CHARACTERS
'Shazam' has a rather large cast of characters. Some of them are memorable. Some are not.
- Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a 14 year old in a comic book movie. He's clever, reasonably decent, and roguish enough to be likable. Much of that sheen is properly toned down by the fact that he's also a foster child dealing with a lot of strong emotions, and all things considered, he does well. Right...up until he meets the Wizard.
- Djimon Hounsou is everywhere these days except where he should be, which is in front of the character as a strong lead. He's a WONDERFUL actor, has amazing presence, and a beautiful voice. He's also been in both DC and Marvel movies now, so it feels really odd to see him pop up in both universes. in 'Shazam', he plays the nameless Wizard who gives Billy his powers. He's utterly forgettable here, with one exception, which is the absolutely AWFUL wig and beard that they force him to wear. He looks like something that came out of a middle school play. A complete and utter waste. And he's clearly angry about being wasted, because he gives Billy Batson a really hokey-looking super suit. And speaking of that...
- The hero Shazam might not strike you as awkward unless you've actually spent some time with him in the comics and on TV in the excellent Justice League cartoons. Alas, there are probably a lot of people who've done so, and all of them are going to balk a little at the horrible costume that poor Zachary Levi has to wear. They got the cape right, the colors right, and the big lightning symbol on his chest right, but...that sort of doesn't help. The suit looks cheap and hokey, especially with it's huge, back-lit lightning bolt symbol. They could have done that several different ways, but they just stuck a giant light on the front of the costume instead so that it looks like something out of a BBC Prop Shop.
And before you start in, I love me some BBC, but anyone who's watched their Sci-Fi shows knows exactly what I'm on about. It's a PLUNGER, people. The most dangerous creature in the universe has a PLUNGER on its face.
I digress.
Putting the suit aside for a moment, let's talk about the character. Credit where it's due, Zachary Levi really manages to channel a lot of his inner child when he's playing Billy Batson's alter ego. He really does act like a child in the body of a man. Unfortunately, there are a few HUGE problems with this Unless you're a hard-core Shazam fan -- it's nice to meet both of you! -- you'll primarily know Shazam from his cartoon appearances. While Billy Batson is clearly a child, once he suits up as Shazam, that whole 'Wisdom Of Soloman' thing takes over and he stops acting quite so childish. Some of that remains, but he does tend to grow up intellectually as well as physically. This doesn't happen in 'Shazam'. Levi just keeps acting like a child. As true to life as this might be, this is JARRING, and you're ready for him to stop acting like a child about halfway through the film.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to take Shazam seriously because he's not acting like a hero that knows what he's doing. He suffers from the same problem that Ant-Man does in that Scott Lang is NOT a hero. He's a guy who found a suit that lets him do cool shit, but he doesn't have that crap in his bones like Captain America or Stark. The same is true with Shazam. He's just a kid -- not even a particularly on the level kid -- who found a super suit that lets him do cool stuff. It shows. And because it shows...
There is never really a credible threat established in this movie. You know Shazam has to win, but he doesn't act like a winner, so a lot of your interest checks out at that point. The fact that this movie has a shamefully underdeveloped villain is part of that too. Speaking of which....
- On the subject of wasted actors, we have to talk about poor Mark Strong's turn as Thaddeus Silvana. His character is underused in the extreme, his back-story and motivations are second-rate, and Mark Strong's excellent ability to portray a bad guy is just plain ... well, wasted.
- The other foster kids that Billy Batson lives with are a mixed bag. Freddy Freeman, the kid that moves around with the aid of a crutch, is the most visible of them by far, and benefits from some of the film's best script writing. He's clearly supposed to be Batson's side-kick, and he does it reasonably well. The other children are stereotypes. There's a smart older girl who is trying to get into college and away from home, but who doesn't really want to go away from home. There's a nerdy Asian kid. There's a large, sullen Mexican kid. And there's an adorable little sister who is innocent and naive. The little sister steals almost every scene that she's in with much the same skill that Akira Akbar's Monica Rambeau does in 'Captain Marvel', which is a GOOD thing. ...Unfortunately, I can't remember any of the names of those children, which tells you how memorable their parts were in the movie as individuals.
Shazam is a movie that should have been left in the oven longer. DC should have moved ahead with a 'Flash' movie, or a 'Cyborg' movie, or hell, even waited for 'Wonder Woman 1984', or whatever it's called. Instead, DC took a risk. It's not a success, but it shows us that DC is capable of that if they'd just follow the recipe a little closer.
6.5 out of 10, indeed.
HERE THERE BE SPOILERS
...Less spoilers, and more me bitching about stuff. But also spoilers.
- It is utterly unbelievable that Shazam could win a fight against Thaddeus Silvana. Period. Silvana knows how to use his powers, has seven henchman who are each potent in their own right, and has the intellect of both an adult and a demon.
- I know they were trying to play Zachary Levi off as a 14-year old, but Christ, he gets annoying.
- No sash? The sash at the waist of Shazam could have done a lot to redeem that costume. I'm sort of sad that they elected not to use that element from his costume.
- I really wish the foster parents had more screen time. They had some of the best writing in the whole movie, just...not nearly enough of it.
- Why does Shazam destroy the staff at the end of the movie? It wasn't Silvana's! It belonged to the Wizard, and it's how he summoned the rest of the Shazam family! And while we're on the subject of family...
- I....no, I'm sorry. I'm not impressed by the Shazam family. They felt really Captain Planet or Power Rangers. Completely wasted.
- Why, oh WHY, could you not have gotten Black Adam for this movie's villain?
- This is yet another movie that was horribly spoiled by the trailers. So much of the film's best moments were already exposed by the time I saw it...
In the world of comic book movies, there's just no arguing that DC has been playing second fiddle to Marvel since 2008's appearance of Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man. The only exception to this, as many have noted, were the Nolan Batman movies.
One thing you can't fault DC for is their persistence. In spite of decidedly unheroic box office returns, they keep trying new things to try and ignite a spark that will start a much larger fire.
Their most recent attempt, Aquaman, showed significant promise, yet it still lacked in a number of areas that kept it from being a true monster on the silver screen. You watched Aquaman, were prepared to acknowledge that it was one of DC's best attempts to date, and was a 'Decent movie.'. Heck, I'd go so far as to say it was a 'Good movie'.
Has DC finally gotten to 'great' with Shazam?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Uh....sort of? Ish?
THE LONG VERSOIN:
There was a remarkable amount of poor decision-making on DC's part to be had where this movie was concerned. They did reasonably well with Wonder Woman and The Justice League, and went on from there to steadily improve with Aquaman. Then, rather than working with any of the other IPs that they introduced within The Justice League....they went somewhere far more obscure. We've seen that this can be done with comic movies; Credit where it's due, Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy is a perfect example of this. Marvel had the time to develop their talent before they made this move, however, and they made it work because they brought all of that talent to bear.
My biggest issue with 'Shazam' is the fact that it was too bold of a step forward for a company that clearly didn't have its recipe perfected yet. Actually, that really describes Shazam perfectly.
It feels under baked.
You can stop reading here with a quote from my very good friend, Aaron: "I give it a 6.5 out of 10."
If you're interested in why, let's talk about that recipe shall we?
STORY
Shazam serves as the origin story for Captain Marvel. No, not that Captain Marvel. It's a different Captain Marvel. Technically, it's the FIRST Captain Marvel, since DC's Captain showed up as early as 1940, while Marvel's Captain didn't show up until 1969. It's a fantastically convoluted history that's somehow led us to this moment.
Captain Marvel, who I shall henceforth refer to as 'Shazam' in order to keep from confusing myself, is actually a 14 year old foster child named Billy Batson. An ancient wizard decides that Billy is a good guy and grants him the magical powers of Soloman, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. Hence the name Shazam. That's seriously how they explain that name away. Once Billy gets his powers, the rest of the movie is about a kid messing around with his powers.
I'd love to say there's more than that, and there is....just not very much. At all. 'Shazam' leans heavily on the experiences of being a foster child in order to form both its hero and its villain, Dr. Thaddeus Silvana. We'll talk about him more in a minute. The movie spends almost its entire run trying to build up story for the hero, which wouldn't be a problem except that it sort of...fails to build a story. By the time you realize this, it's time for the movie's third act, and you're not nearly as invested as you should have been. 'Shazam's story isn't bad, it's just ... well, it's under baked. Unrefined.
This is really even more unfortunate because the scripting in this movie is really approaching Marvel levels of sharp. It's not quite there yet, but the tightness that some of the jokes and one-liners come off with shows that they're absolutely getting better. Aquaman was a funny flick, and this movie was even more entertaining in that regard.
CHARACTERS
'Shazam' has a rather large cast of characters. Some of them are memorable. Some are not.
- Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a 14 year old in a comic book movie. He's clever, reasonably decent, and roguish enough to be likable. Much of that sheen is properly toned down by the fact that he's also a foster child dealing with a lot of strong emotions, and all things considered, he does well. Right...up until he meets the Wizard.
- Djimon Hounsou is everywhere these days except where he should be, which is in front of the character as a strong lead. He's a WONDERFUL actor, has amazing presence, and a beautiful voice. He's also been in both DC and Marvel movies now, so it feels really odd to see him pop up in both universes. in 'Shazam', he plays the nameless Wizard who gives Billy his powers. He's utterly forgettable here, with one exception, which is the absolutely AWFUL wig and beard that they force him to wear. He looks like something that came out of a middle school play. A complete and utter waste. And he's clearly angry about being wasted, because he gives Billy Batson a really hokey-looking super suit. And speaking of that...
- The hero Shazam might not strike you as awkward unless you've actually spent some time with him in the comics and on TV in the excellent Justice League cartoons. Alas, there are probably a lot of people who've done so, and all of them are going to balk a little at the horrible costume that poor Zachary Levi has to wear. They got the cape right, the colors right, and the big lightning symbol on his chest right, but...that sort of doesn't help. The suit looks cheap and hokey, especially with it's huge, back-lit lightning bolt symbol. They could have done that several different ways, but they just stuck a giant light on the front of the costume instead so that it looks like something out of a BBC Prop Shop.
And before you start in, I love me some BBC, but anyone who's watched their Sci-Fi shows knows exactly what I'm on about. It's a PLUNGER, people. The most dangerous creature in the universe has a PLUNGER on its face.
I digress.
Putting the suit aside for a moment, let's talk about the character. Credit where it's due, Zachary Levi really manages to channel a lot of his inner child when he's playing Billy Batson's alter ego. He really does act like a child in the body of a man. Unfortunately, there are a few HUGE problems with this Unless you're a hard-core Shazam fan -- it's nice to meet both of you! -- you'll primarily know Shazam from his cartoon appearances. While Billy Batson is clearly a child, once he suits up as Shazam, that whole 'Wisdom Of Soloman' thing takes over and he stops acting quite so childish. Some of that remains, but he does tend to grow up intellectually as well as physically. This doesn't happen in 'Shazam'. Levi just keeps acting like a child. As true to life as this might be, this is JARRING, and you're ready for him to stop acting like a child about halfway through the film.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to take Shazam seriously because he's not acting like a hero that knows what he's doing. He suffers from the same problem that Ant-Man does in that Scott Lang is NOT a hero. He's a guy who found a suit that lets him do cool shit, but he doesn't have that crap in his bones like Captain America or Stark. The same is true with Shazam. He's just a kid -- not even a particularly on the level kid -- who found a super suit that lets him do cool stuff. It shows. And because it shows...
There is never really a credible threat established in this movie. You know Shazam has to win, but he doesn't act like a winner, so a lot of your interest checks out at that point. The fact that this movie has a shamefully underdeveloped villain is part of that too. Speaking of which....
- On the subject of wasted actors, we have to talk about poor Mark Strong's turn as Thaddeus Silvana. His character is underused in the extreme, his back-story and motivations are second-rate, and Mark Strong's excellent ability to portray a bad guy is just plain ... well, wasted.
- The other foster kids that Billy Batson lives with are a mixed bag. Freddy Freeman, the kid that moves around with the aid of a crutch, is the most visible of them by far, and benefits from some of the film's best script writing. He's clearly supposed to be Batson's side-kick, and he does it reasonably well. The other children are stereotypes. There's a smart older girl who is trying to get into college and away from home, but who doesn't really want to go away from home. There's a nerdy Asian kid. There's a large, sullen Mexican kid. And there's an adorable little sister who is innocent and naive. The little sister steals almost every scene that she's in with much the same skill that Akira Akbar's Monica Rambeau does in 'Captain Marvel', which is a GOOD thing. ...Unfortunately, I can't remember any of the names of those children, which tells you how memorable their parts were in the movie as individuals.
Shazam is a movie that should have been left in the oven longer. DC should have moved ahead with a 'Flash' movie, or a 'Cyborg' movie, or hell, even waited for 'Wonder Woman 1984', or whatever it's called. Instead, DC took a risk. It's not a success, but it shows us that DC is capable of that if they'd just follow the recipe a little closer.
6.5 out of 10, indeed.
HERE THERE BE SPOILERS
...Less spoilers, and more me bitching about stuff. But also spoilers.
- It is utterly unbelievable that Shazam could win a fight against Thaddeus Silvana. Period. Silvana knows how to use his powers, has seven henchman who are each potent in their own right, and has the intellect of both an adult and a demon.
- I know they were trying to play Zachary Levi off as a 14-year old, but Christ, he gets annoying.
- No sash? The sash at the waist of Shazam could have done a lot to redeem that costume. I'm sort of sad that they elected not to use that element from his costume.
- I really wish the foster parents had more screen time. They had some of the best writing in the whole movie, just...not nearly enough of it.
- Why does Shazam destroy the staff at the end of the movie? It wasn't Silvana's! It belonged to the Wizard, and it's how he summoned the rest of the Shazam family! And while we're on the subject of family...
- I....no, I'm sorry. I'm not impressed by the Shazam family. They felt really Captain Planet or Power Rangers. Completely wasted.
- Why, oh WHY, could you not have gotten Black Adam for this movie's villain?
- This is yet another movie that was horribly spoiled by the trailers. So much of the film's best moments were already exposed by the time I saw it...
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