Review: Shazam! (2019)

I have a confession to make: I didn’t actually hate Man of Steel.

Yeah. Amazing, isn’t it? I know Zack Snyder’s opening entry into the DC Expanded Universe wasn’t met with fondness by everyone, and while I wasn’t fond of some character decisions and the jumpy presentation, I felt it had some effective scenes, satisfying action, and even some memorable music. Sure, it had flaws, but I figured that if those were ironed out for next time, they could put the Man In The Outside Underwear on top of the world again.

Boy was I a schmuck! I wasn’t expecting them to make an entire movie out of those flaws with Batman V Superman, a film that while having some okay moments in isolation, was ass-numbingly long and kind of dumb. Everything from Jessie Eisenberg being cast over Bryan friggin’ Cranston, to Henry Cavill being completely sidelined in favor of Affleck growling his way through his part as Bat-Psycho, and the murky palette made me pretty much done with the DC film project at the time. I skipped Suicide Squad, and everything I heard didn’t make me regret it. I did see Wonder Woman, which was fine, but nothing especially outstanding. Justice League, I barely registered was even a thing.

But even as all this made it all too fashionable to rag on DC, I did hear they were start to turning things around. Aquaman was by many accounts surprisingly decent, and then finally I saw trailers for a DC cape flick actually trying to have fun with itself—Shazam. I knew the basics of the character, mostly from the excellent one-off graphic novel ‘Kingdom Come’ I must admit, such as the fact that he was originally named ‘Captain Marvel’—and after Marvel itself made a slightly underwhelming take on their character, I decided to give this one a shot.

And hey, it wasn’t half bad.

Asher Angel plays Billy Batson, a young fella barely into his teens, who lost his mother as a toddler and has been bouncing around doing everything up to getting into police cars to track her down. It’s not long before he’s shoved into a foster home with a cast of not entirely socially accepted but good-hearted kids, forming a bond with Freddy Freeman played by Jack Glazer The film is somewhat geared to slightly younger audiences than before, but it’s no less enjoyable for all other audiences. Lord knows after the literal murderous psychos that have fronted DC flicks before, a bit of levity is welcome.

Billy is soon scooped by a wizard in another dimension (it’s a comic book movie, so of course he is) in desperate need of a champion, and soon finds himself with the ability to not only age a decade instantly but also gain a litany of superpowers. He does what most young people would honestly do with these sorts of abilities—act like a jackass, take selfies with people, and maybe stop an occasional mugger. Most of it is fairly relatable and more down to earth in scope than many other superhero flicks, which is all fine by me; it reminds me of Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man, in many good ways.

And much like in that film, our hero has to get serious when confronted with a bad guy on par with him—in this case, it’s Dr. Sivana played by Mark Strong, who I’ve associated enough with Kingsman that I did a double take on first glance. Like most cinematic superhero villains these days, he’s kind of weak; Strong does the best he can with the material, growling with all the intensity his already gravelly voice can muster, and the character does have an interesting motive. But for most of the film, he doesn’t rise beyond ‘bwa ha ha ha I’m evil’, while also being puppeteered by a gaggle of demonic entities. It’s a bit of a shame, as in some ways his character’s story reminded me of the far more memorable and interesting Syndrome in the original Incredibles, but as with many he just becomes another obstacle for the hero.

The action in the film is also a bit weak, and the climax feels a little too long—though it’s livened up by a very amusing twist. Still, here the punch-ups definitely feel beside the point—it’s all about seeing a regular kid adjust to being a badass, how his friends all react to this, and feels a lot more personable than you’d expect. The characters don’t live in helicarriers or Bat-Caves, just a plain old suburban house; they don’t even live somewhere iconic like New York, but the somewhat more proletarian Philadelphia. That’s what gives the film some actual charm, and charm is what most of DC’s films have sorely needed up to this point.

Now, I guess we gotta ask—which film based on a character called Captain Marvel to come out recently is on top? Honestly…I’m giving DC this round. Marvel’s outing had Samuel L. Jackson, and some decent scenes, but the protagonist was honestly forgettable and the movie was on the whole fairly standard. Though Shazam probably isn’t going to be a landmark for the genre either, the lead is funnier, more memorable, and far more relatable in his struggles. And hey, a lot of it did make me chuckle, more than my generally blasé reaction to the MCU’s offering.  

The film is set in a wider DC universe, but much more loosely than before; Batman and Superman are referenced, but whether this specifically takes place in the same timeline of events as Man of Steel is vague. I don’t mind this looser approach to interconnectivity DC is taking, along with its upcoming Joker film; this lets each film stand on its own in terms of tone and subject, without having to set up the next twenty instalments. It’s something Marvel should consider, once it finally blows its load with the juggernaut that is Endgame looming on the horizon.

So yeah—all in all, while it’s not going to blow people’s minds, Shazam is a decent enough film with charm and laughs to make up for a smaller scope and so-so spectacle. Even the end credits are surprisingly creative and made me smile. It looks like DC is learning and making its films its own—and with the genre soon to face an open road when ten years of the MCU finally pay off, I welcome more individuality and more personality. And less growling about ‘MARTHA’.