Film Review: Shazam!

DC is hopping on superhero comedy train, and it’s heading to the “wizard” himself, Shazam!. We all know what DC is trying to do here, but let’s put down the comparison to Marvel for a second and think about it.

With their two most prized characters out of the ring, DC is left with little to almost nothing left to keep up with other franchises. We’ve seen them attempt at a group mashup, first solo female superhero, and a guy that can talk to fish. Now we have the new kid on the block, and his name is Billy. A 14-year-old kid who has been bouncing from foster home to foster home, and we can see that he was lost and will always take care of himself first.

He’s able to get his powers from the “wizard” and gains the powers of Shazam!. I won’t give away any spoilers, but you can see where I’m going with it. He’s struggled trying to find a family

To be a good superhero, he or she has to have more than just the muscles. The hero has to connect to the audience in some way and show that he or she is exactly like us by making mistakes or misjudgments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oD7B7oiBtw

Was it the best superhero movie? No, however, it did keep me engaged. That’s one of the things that I struggle when watching DC films. I haven’t felt connected, or even interested in a DC film after “The Dark Knight.” Let’s face it, after repeating the same thing so many times and all that work trying to accomplish the same outcome was getting really dull.

“Shazam!” was a fresh, new look on what DC could accomplish. We can tell from the past that DC likes to play it safe when it comes to their heroes. They like the mainstream, huge muscles, curly q, type of look. They still have strayed from that stereotype, in fact that’s what Shazam! is. A stereotypical superhero that’s bulletproof, can fly, has a cape, and has super strength. Hello, Superman is that you?

For “Shazam!” being a whole new storyline was actually a huge step forward for DC. They have many different heroes and villains within their arsenal. Which raises the question as to why they weren’t doing this earlier, there is so much you could do with it. Finally, DC is starting to realize they needed to calm down on the Superman and Batman scene for a minute and take a look at what they have.

While DC’s main super power is losing actors, there’s a good possibility of getting a sequel. Now, when and with who are totally different questions. Can Zachary Levi commit to staying Shazam!?

In the age of superhero films, we are over the standard caped crusader. It’s over done, and there needs to be more variety, and something we haven’t seen before. Overall, I think it’s safe to say that it was fun to watch. It may not have been some of DC’s best work, but I would watch "Shazam!" over "Superman" any day.