REVIEW: 'Shazam!' - DC has a hit

Zachary Levi as Shazam and Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman in Shazam!, directed by David F. Sandberg.

Shazam?

Shazam.

Shazam! Yes!

…

*further pause for effect*

shaaa-ZAAAMMM!!!

There’s a little skepticism at first because DC’s track record had been so spotty of late, but Shazam! is so good and interesting from the start it wins you over pretty quickly. It is yet another superhero origin film, but it’s funny and exciting in all the ways the good ones are, and in a move away from the drab greys and blacks, it is bright and warm and full of good feelings, though it’s also scary and cold when it needs to be. If DC can keep the momentum going, there’s no reason they can’t build an empire of their own.

Shazam is Billy Batson, a boy who transforms into a muscle-bound superhero in a red suit with a white cape and a giant lightning bolt on his chest, capable of flight, super-strength and super speed. Sounds generic, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but the real-life story is pretty interesting.

Originally named Captain Marvel (totally unrelated to the Carol Danvers version), he was Fawcett Publications’ response to the enormously successful Superman by DC (then National Comics). But it was such a blatant and unapologetic rip-off that DC sued them in the 1940s, and in a prolonged legal battle forced Fawcett to effectively shelve Captain Marvel forever. By the time DC acquired the rights to produce Captain Marvel comics in the 1970s, the name had already been trademarked by Marvel Comics, and DC was forced to re-brand him as Shazam.

Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana

In this modern re-telling, Billy (Asher Angel) is an orphan who is selected to be the Champion of Eternity by the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), and upon yelling his name (sha-ZAM!) is transformed into a comic-book beefcake (Zachary Levi, in a role that he’s destined to play) bestowed with powers granted by the Council of Eternity. Billy and his adopted foster brother, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), start having fun with Shazam’s powers, but they’re later forced to make life-saving decisions after a confrontation with the villainous Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong, always a delight), who wants the powers for himself.

DC Comics has always espoused its “family” of superheroes; the “Bat family” has multiple Robins, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, Alfred and Ace the Bat-hound, and the “Superman family” has Supergirl, Superboy and Krypto the Superdog. Yet, it’s Shazam! that’s the first DC film to really explore this idea of a family, of how there really is a home for everyone and going solo isn’t always so cool. A large portion of the (pretty good) subplot deals with Billy’s attempts to find his birth mother, but when he finally begins to forge a new relationship with his foster family, it’s incredibly uplifting.

The juxtaposition between Billy and Shazam – an orphan and a social outcast, the other, a viral sensation after showing off his powers on YouTube – is also one of the more interesting depictions of the dual identities of superheroes. Billy ends up learning a lot about himself being Shazam, and for once the superhero mantle doesn’t seem like a burden, but more like an opportunity. The alter ego is the turning point in the journey rather than the end point. He also lets others in on the fun, and for once the DC superheroes felt welcoming.

p.s. Whoever it was that failed to get ________ on camera for that POTENTIALLY awesome cameo in the cafeteria at the end should be fired.