Shazam! (Movie Review)

 ***This review will contain spoilers***

Summary:

We all have a superhero inside of us it just takes a bit of magic to bring it on. In 14 year old Billy Batson's case, all he needs to do is shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do - have fun while testing out his new found powers. But he'll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana can get his hands on Shazam's magical abilities.

Opening Scene: 

It's not very often where we get the background of a villain in the opening scene of the movie. But it worked beautifully the way it was done. We get to see what caused Thaddeus Sivana to grow with hatred over the years. Sivana is in a way a victim of circumstance. He had a father who spoke down to him and a brother that wasn't shy to show his disapproval and on top of it Thaddeus is transported to a magical wizard who says he's not pure of heart...yeah that's really tough for a kid to swallow, especially, once he's transported back to his life it leads to a car accident thus forever changing his life and not for the better. He could have made other choices that would have led him to a different outcome but being influenced by seven deadly sins definitely led him down the wrong path. So while I can understand his choices being wrong I can't fault him and feel sympathy for his situation. If only the wizard would have wiped his mind of the trial things could have been extremely different. 

I am so happy that Shazam is finally on the big screen. If you're not familiar with DC Comics and their animated tv shows then Shazam is a brand new character for most. The entire back story of Shazam and the Shazam family is so unique and then add in magical abilities when we've mostly had the 'main justice league' introduced in the DCEU this is definitely a nice change of pace. 

This movie nailed it on so many levels. From the casting, character development, the script, the music everything was extremely well done and it's such a nice change of pace compared to some of the shittier DCEU movies that have come out. I'm happy they have taken a chance on Shazam because I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. And that is rare nowadays for me to enjoy something through and not see any issues that need to be corrected. 

I would have enjoyed a more comically accurate appearance on the seven deadly sins, however, for the movie it was still well done. It made more sense for them to appear more as demons and not as humanized. I have been wondering who is the seventh champion and seventh member of the Shazam family. And there weren't any indicators on who it could be but I do know for certain it's not Black Adam. But I loved the small ways they included different heroes like Batman's batarang and a flattened bullet that was shot at Superman. 

I loved the feel good moments all throughout the movie. I loved seeing Billy grow and emotionally mature and allow himself to be loved by others that may not be blood related but who are family and treat him as such. I will admit that I became teary eyed many times in the movie, from Billy's mom rejecting him, to Rosa and Victor giving their love selflessly to all their foster children, and to Billy acknowledging them and the foster children as his family. I'm getting choked up right now just thinking about it. All the actors worked well together from the children to the adult superheroes they all meshed really well and again did such a phenomenal job! 

Rating:

I'm giving Shazam! 5 stars on 5! This was such a good movie! I loved every aspect of it and have no issues with it. I did enjoy the two end credit scenes, especially, showcasing Superman but clearly it wasn't Henry Cavill since they didn't show Superman's face. I loved the message of the movie and hope the next DCEU movie I watch is just as good.