Shazam was a lot of fun.
The technical aspects were all good. The effects are surprisingly good for a lower budgeted superhero movie. The score was pretty good, but I wish Shazam had a better theme, because honestly I don't remember what his theme was at all. The movie is shot pretty well, and there's some good uses of horror elements. From the visuals, everything is just solid, definitely no complaints there. It isn't amazing by any means, but there are some really nice shots in there, and the cinematography is above average in my opinion. Also there wasn't as much action as I thought there would be, but it personally didn't bother me. All the action was pretty good too, but I don't think there was anything that really got me at the edge of my seat, but it was definitely entertaining.
All of the cast is really good. Zachary Levi definitely does a great job as Shazam, he does a believable performance as a kid. Asher Angel's Billy Batson was also really good. I honestly wasn't expecting him to be that good, but he has some really good emotional scenes. All of the foster family is good too. They do have a lot of chemistry, but I felt like they were maybe a little underused. I also thought the foster parents were good too. Unfortunately the villain Dr. Sivana wasn't that good. He's okay. As a villain he actually works really well for the movie. There are some really good comedic moments between Shazam and Sivana because of their contrasting tones. Overall though, he does have a clear motive, and can be menacing, but I feel like he could've been better. I do hope to see him in the future though, Mark Strong is too good to be wasted.
The comedy was actually really well done. There were multiple funny moments, and almost none were used in serious scenes. The tone is balanced very well. There were definitely some laughs, and surprisingly barely any jokes failed. Usually in more comedic movies there's a lot of jokes that fall flat, but I'd say around 90% of the jokes or funny moments work. I do have to say while the trailers did a great job of not showing too much, but there are some jokes that were ruined from them.
This movie has surprisingly a lot of heart. It doesn't stray away from more mature and emotional moments for comedy. It's all done very well, and there were some surprisingly really heartfelt moments, which I'm glad they didn't gloss over, because it really does give this movie an extra layer over more superficial superhero films. It reminded me a lot about the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. Shazam managed to be campy and funny, while not crossing the line to cheesiness. The tone is just really well balanced, and it manages to juggle the funny and emotional scenes very well. The characters go through realistic arcs. They have arguments, they fail, and they have their problems, but they all come together in the end in just a really nice and satisfying way. It's just nice to see a superhero movie with so much heart like the first Superman film.
Now I don't think this movie is amazing by any means. Like I mentioned earlier the villain just isn't good. Not only that, but with so many superhero movies, this movie is bound to come across some tropes. This does feel a lot like the traditional superhero origin movie, and also some characters do go through arcs we've might've seen before, but I think it's done well enough and in a more inventive way that manages to keep it fresh for the most part. I do believe that they could've maybe tried to avoid some tropes, but it's not like they ruin the movie, it just could've been a little better.
I really have to give props to the director David F. Sandberg (and the writers, Henry Gayden, and Darren Lemke) for bringing us so much heart in this movie, and balancing the tone so well. I can't forget to mention some really nice surprises, especially the third act, which was one of the best parts unlike most superhero films. One top of that there were some great Easter eggs, and comic book stuff I wasn't expecting them to do, it just really surprised me and made me glad they aren't shying away from the material, even if it may be a little goofy.
If I really had any other specific complaints I would have to mention, one of them would be how they're still using bullies in this era. I feel like bullies like that are uncommon nowadays. In addition to that they might've exaggerated some of the characters a little too much. I mean one of the kids can hack? And Billy is straight up breaking the law near the beginning. They might've gone too far there. Also I feel like most scenes focused on the Sivana storyline just weren't that good. There was this one really great scene with him though, which had horror elements to it, which I really liked. I wish the Sins weren't basically faceless monsters though. I feel like they could've delved deeper into the villain, and the sins. That area of the film is just really lacking. My final problem would be that there this one scene that didn't really make sense near the beginning. It really isn't a problem, but it just bugged me.
In Conclusion, Shazam is just a really fun time. It manages to balance comedy with emotional moments really well. The characters are all just so much fun to watch. All the cast has great chemistry and they give really great performances. There are some nice surprises. However the villain was a disappointment, and I feel like it could've tried to avoid some common tropes. Overall though it was really a really good time, it could've been better, but I can't wait to see more of these characters.
7.3/10
The technical aspects were all good. The effects are surprisingly good for a lower budgeted superhero movie. The score was pretty good, but I wish Shazam had a better theme, because honestly I don't remember what his theme was at all. The movie is shot pretty well, and there's some good uses of horror elements. From the visuals, everything is just solid, definitely no complaints there. It isn't amazing by any means, but there are some really nice shots in there, and the cinematography is above average in my opinion. Also there wasn't as much action as I thought there would be, but it personally didn't bother me. All the action was pretty good too, but I don't think there was anything that really got me at the edge of my seat, but it was definitely entertaining.
All of the cast is really good. Zachary Levi definitely does a great job as Shazam, he does a believable performance as a kid. Asher Angel's Billy Batson was also really good. I honestly wasn't expecting him to be that good, but he has some really good emotional scenes. All of the foster family is good too. They do have a lot of chemistry, but I felt like they were maybe a little underused. I also thought the foster parents were good too. Unfortunately the villain Dr. Sivana wasn't that good. He's okay. As a villain he actually works really well for the movie. There are some really good comedic moments between Shazam and Sivana because of their contrasting tones. Overall though, he does have a clear motive, and can be menacing, but I feel like he could've been better. I do hope to see him in the future though, Mark Strong is too good to be wasted.
The comedy was actually really well done. There were multiple funny moments, and almost none were used in serious scenes. The tone is balanced very well. There were definitely some laughs, and surprisingly barely any jokes failed. Usually in more comedic movies there's a lot of jokes that fall flat, but I'd say around 90% of the jokes or funny moments work. I do have to say while the trailers did a great job of not showing too much, but there are some jokes that were ruined from them.
This movie has surprisingly a lot of heart. It doesn't stray away from more mature and emotional moments for comedy. It's all done very well, and there were some surprisingly really heartfelt moments, which I'm glad they didn't gloss over, because it really does give this movie an extra layer over more superficial superhero films. It reminded me a lot about the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. Shazam managed to be campy and funny, while not crossing the line to cheesiness. The tone is just really well balanced, and it manages to juggle the funny and emotional scenes very well. The characters go through realistic arcs. They have arguments, they fail, and they have their problems, but they all come together in the end in just a really nice and satisfying way. It's just nice to see a superhero movie with so much heart like the first Superman film.
Now I don't think this movie is amazing by any means. Like I mentioned earlier the villain just isn't good. Not only that, but with so many superhero movies, this movie is bound to come across some tropes. This does feel a lot like the traditional superhero origin movie, and also some characters do go through arcs we've might've seen before, but I think it's done well enough and in a more inventive way that manages to keep it fresh for the most part. I do believe that they could've maybe tried to avoid some tropes, but it's not like they ruin the movie, it just could've been a little better.
I really have to give props to the director David F. Sandberg (and the writers, Henry Gayden, and Darren Lemke) for bringing us so much heart in this movie, and balancing the tone so well. I can't forget to mention some really nice surprises, especially the third act, which was one of the best parts unlike most superhero films. One top of that there were some great Easter eggs, and comic book stuff I wasn't expecting them to do, it just really surprised me and made me glad they aren't shying away from the material, even if it may be a little goofy.
If I really had any other specific complaints I would have to mention, one of them would be how they're still using bullies in this era. I feel like bullies like that are uncommon nowadays. In addition to that they might've exaggerated some of the characters a little too much. I mean one of the kids can hack? And Billy is straight up breaking the law near the beginning. They might've gone too far there. Also I feel like most scenes focused on the Sivana storyline just weren't that good. There was this one really great scene with him though, which had horror elements to it, which I really liked. I wish the Sins weren't basically faceless monsters though. I feel like they could've delved deeper into the villain, and the sins. That area of the film is just really lacking. My final problem would be that there this one scene that didn't really make sense near the beginning. It really isn't a problem, but it just bugged me.
In Conclusion, Shazam is just a really fun time. It manages to balance comedy with emotional moments really well. The characters are all just so much fun to watch. All the cast has great chemistry and they give really great performances. There are some nice surprises. However the villain was a disappointment, and I feel like it could've tried to avoid some common tropes. Overall though it was really a really good time, it could've been better, but I can't wait to see more of these characters.
7.3/10