Details: More information can be found at https://www.shazammovie.com/ and https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448115/
Score: 7.3/10
Boy was I relieved after seeing this movie. I was worried that I was going to see another trash super hero movie from the DC Comics universe. Fortunately, that was not the case. This movie had heart, which is really the primary thing I need from movies nowadays.
Billy Batson is fifteen year foster kid who often runs away from his foster homes. One day, he’s transported to the magical residence of a dying wizard and granted super powers. Billy must now learn to use these new powers as new enemies arise.
The biggest reason why I enjoyed this movie is that it has a lot of heart. The movie focuses on the theme of family and it is effective. I would even go so far to say that the superhero aspects of the movie were the less entertaining of the two.
But there are superhero aspects to this movie. Shazam deviates from the darker Snyder superhero movies and is both light and fun. It deliberately combines aspects of Tom Hanks’ Big movie combined with the superhero genre. A lot of the jokes are just kids being able to do adult things, like drinking beer and beating up bullies.
What I loved most is what they did at the end of the movie. I won’t spoil it. Suffice it to say I went to the imdb.com page after the movie to make sure that the faces I saw were indeed who I thought they were.
Overall, this was a fun movie and a slightly different take on the superhero genre. It tackles the overused plot of a young person gaining powers, except that young person stays young and learns the true meaning of being an adult hero while staying a kid. The tone of the film feels like it took inspiration from films like Big and even movies like The Goonies and the Harry Potter series (in regards to childhood shenanigans).
Score: 7.3/10
