One last dip into the Superhero genre this week and for a good while with:
SHAZAM (2019 dir. David F. Sandberg)
Is blowing gum bubbles still considered rebellious in 2019?
Why I watched it:
Yadda yadda, Matt likes superhero movies. I've sort of beat it into the ground this week.
For me though, the once and only Captain Marvel was another huge part of my growing up around comics. Being first introduced to the Justice League of the '80s, also known as the JLI, Captain Marvel was a great early addition of that team and it was a little sad that he left so early into his run. That's not to say writers Keith Giffen and J.M. Dematteis who helmed one of my favourite run in comics, didn't give him some choice moments in his brief foray, they treated him exactly how he was, a 14-year-old kid in a Superhero's body and it was the first instance I saw the character used like that.
Before writers had always separated Billy Batson, the boy and Captain Marvel, the man. As soon as Billy would utter those words, he was as much an adult as his body suggested, beating up bad guys and essentially being all Diet Superman on them.
As far as I know, Giffen and Dematteis kept that whole, he's just a kid element to the character and made it more fun. Upon seeing the trailers for this film then last year, it looked like fun and I was pleased that they seemed to be keeping that element of the character that I enjoyed the first time I watched him.
Oh and he'll always be Captain Marvel to me, DC and Marvel spat be damned...
The review:
Well if this didn't turn out to be a whole heap of fun.
DC has actually been on a hot roll as of late putting out a number of decent films and this actually might be the most enjoyable of the bunch so far.
Capturing the family film formula, the same essence that Marvel is so often wonderful at delivering, this movie is essentially the movie equivalent of often loved Tom Hanks' favourite, Big. Heck at one point it even realizes it's reference by playing the Piano Floor gag during one of the fight scenes.
It pulls off the impressive feat of casting a child cast who aren't annoying. Not even in the slightest, a feat not seen since Super 8 in my opinion. Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer especially being likeable kids having been dealt with an impossible situation.
The supporting cast is just as impressive with Mark Strong putting in a typically excellent performance as Dr Sivana, a man who can play bad guy roles in his sleep and Zachary Levi plays a funny and amiable superhero in Shazam! No longer second best to Jason Lee in a Chipmunks movie, he stars and shines in this role.
Gone are the moody remnants of the Snyderverse, this is DC's equivalent of Spider-Man: Homecoming and it does a great job of capturing both the comedic feel and swift action that made that film so enjoyable.
Shazam! is a blast from start to finish and I genuinely have little bad to say about it, a massive thumbs up from me.
Adding to the collection?
Sure, if I can actually grab it back off my dad as I have an inkling that he'll enjoy this as much as I did. This is great movie fare, exactly the type of escapist entertainment that movies are supposed to be. With that, Shazam! gets an impressive 8 out of 10 from me and I'm looking forward to the sequel which hopefully will deliver more of the same.
Until next time, I remain,
Matt Major.
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