Shazam! is easily the DCEU's most light-hearted film to date and that helps to make it as enjoyable as it is. I really enjoyed David F.Sandberg's direction, which incorporates a lot of interesting shots, as well as the darker elements he brings in. Zachary Levi is superb as Shazam, and he delivers exceptionally well on a lot of the comedic elements. Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer were perfectly fine, but didn't do much for me otherwise with their performances.
The story is also quite engaging, with it having the emotional centre focused on the foster family that Billy becomes a part of, which delivers a fair few heartwarming moments.
I do have some minor issues, with the main one being that Billy Batson and Shazam don't feel like the same person at all really. A lot of Shazam's dialogue and actions didn't really feel like something Billy would say or do, so that was a little distracting.
Also the film is a lot darker and more serious than the trailers made it out to be. Whilst it has some great meta moments where it makes fun of traits in superhero films, it mixes in a lot of darker subject material, which doesn't blend well tonally.
Mark Strong's Thaddeus Sivana was also not hugely compelling as the main antagonist. Strong is decent with his performance, but his motivations for his actions could have been fleshed out a little more.
Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable time at the cinema and certainly a step in the right direction for the DCEU.
The story is also quite engaging, with it having the emotional centre focused on the foster family that Billy becomes a part of, which delivers a fair few heartwarming moments.
I do have some minor issues, with the main one being that Billy Batson and Shazam don't feel like the same person at all really. A lot of Shazam's dialogue and actions didn't really feel like something Billy would say or do, so that was a little distracting.
Also the film is a lot darker and more serious than the trailers made it out to be. Whilst it has some great meta moments where it makes fun of traits in superhero films, it mixes in a lot of darker subject material, which doesn't blend well tonally.
Mark Strong's Thaddeus Sivana was also not hugely compelling as the main antagonist. Strong is decent with his performance, but his motivations for his actions could have been fleshed out a little more.
Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable time at the cinema and certainly a step in the right direction for the DCEU.