Shazam!★★
A precedent for the upcoming DC films, Shazam is somewhat refreshing but not quite there yet, not in terms of boldness. Much still needs to be improved if DC ultimately wants a more compelling story to tell.
Lightning bolts and bam! Shazam is a film about a kid named Billy who transforms into an adult superhero whenever he says the word “Shazam”- the name of the Wizard who gave him his powers. Billy (Asher Angel) became a foster kid after getting lost as a little boy. Since then he’s been relentlessly searching for his real Mom. While unaware of the villain who’s out for him.
The film looked promising until I noticed these three major things:
- The apparent contradiction between the two characters in one body is visible. On the one hand, Billy is witty and smart; he is a confident young man who relies on himself. On the other hand, as Shazam ( Zachary Levi); he becomes feeble-minded and almost always unsure of himself. This inconsistency is confusing and makes it hard to follow. Either there is a lack of delivery, or this is what was intended.
- Of pure soul. One would expect a wise old Wizard. Ironically, the former Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) came across as a mean entity with double standards whose only focus was to find a pure soul. While in the process, with his desperation he becomes aggressive to the “unpure soul” thus becoming unworthy being Shazam himself. The then Wizard, caused a villain to emerge, making a foreseeable future conflict. A plot that we’ve seen so many times before.
- The short-sighted villain, Dr Thadeus (Mark Strong). Had they made a more compelling purpose for him to spread the wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins rather than exclusively pursue Shazam, it would have seemed more intense and engaging to make it a little less predictable.
Generally, Shazam is a light-hearted action comedy treated using a traditional approach. Regardless of the changes applied, there remains a sense of the contrived effect that makes it feel artificial not even if it’s a make-believe film.