“SHAZAM!” proves not everything good is brand new
I was hesitant about “SHAZAM!” going in. The new film from Warner Brothers and DC belongs to a cinematic universe that I haven’t historically been much of a fan of, and though I liked last year’s “Aquaman” well enough, it didn’t leave me wanting more. Like many of these movies, I knew “SHAZAM!” would be based on the latest iteration of the character from comic book writer and movie producer Geoff Johns, a version I’m less than fond of. And yet, despite all that, DC and director David Sandberg have pulled off a movie that feels (mostly) like an all-ages comic book and a late-80s adventure film, while still staying (mostly) true to the comic-book inspiration.
If I was nine years old, “SHAZAM!” would be my favorite film of all time. Superhero movie or not, it feels like a kid’s adventure movie from the 80s or 90s, a “Goonies” or a “Pagemaster,” the kind of thing you catch on late-afternoon TV as a kid and fall in love with, the the sort of thing that makes you excited to find the junior novelization, browned and tattered on the last shelf at a used bookstore, just because you want to relive the adventure. Some of the most classic elements of the character, the hokey wizard and magic powers, are translated perfectly in the style of a theme park ride at Universal Studios, goofy and dumb and, for a kid, totally immersing. “SHAZAM!” doesn’t ever take itself too seriously, nor does it talk down to its viewers or edge into parody. For the first time in a DC movie since “Wonder Woman,” we’re presented with a superhero who doesn’t need (much) updating or changing - and we’re asked to believe that the character can be cool while still being fun. “Aquaman” had to be explained and rewritten, and Zach Snyder felt the need to turn the “Justice League” into killers, but “SHAZAM!” is in touch with kid-sensibilities and wants us to know that kid-sensibilities are great.
And the kids are what make this movie great. Jack Dylan Gracer as Freedy Freeman - even more so than stars Zachary Levi and Asher Angel who play the older and younger versions of Billy Batson, respectively - is the heart of the film. The movie thrives where it lets two kids in their early teens have fun playing with superpowers, and thankfully the second act serves as an extended joyride through Philadelphia with the two. Gracer, especially, brings a supremely likeable and watchable performance. And, despite my trepidations about the new members of the Shazam! Family, every one of the young actors is a delight. Like any good movie about a gang of kids, they act and speak just a little older than their age, like any self-respecting nine-year old imagines they would if thrust into a magical adventure. In that way, “SHAZAM!” feels true to its roots as a comic-book that has always skewed into fantastical kid adventures.
Where the movie falters is its villain. Mark Strong’s (this is not Strong’s first run as a disappointing DC supervillain) Sivana is not only too grim-dark for this film but is a badly-written version of the comics character. Classic “Shazam!” stories put our heroes up against the sniveling mad scientist Dr. Sivana, more like “Phineas and Ferb’s” Doctor Doofenshmirtz than this film’s force of nature villain. Sivana kills more people than is necessary, and his connection to the Seven Evil Sins seems like a forced way to make him part of the hero’s origin. It feels at some points like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam was meant to be the villain, but since he’s getting his own movie, the studio did a quick and inefficient re-write. Strong gives Sivana no hint of character beyond the words in the script. And, like many of these DC movies, the final fight scene goes on for too long in the dark, though its setting at a Christmas Carnival is a fun change of pace from the city-destroying final scenes of basically every other DC film.
“SHAZAM!” feels like what I want from a DC movie, strangely enough. It has character and attitude and a tone all its own. It harkens back to a genre of movie that doesn’t get made so much anymore (projects like “It” and “Stranger Things” are comparable in some ways, but just too scary to show on Disney Channel or Cartoon Network in the afternoon) and proves that such movies can be as fun and interesting as ever. Despite some major changes from the original source material (a Billy Batson who is not replaced by Captain Marvel but becomes Shazam! and an expanded Shazam! Family) this movie captures the kids-first feel of those comics. And it accomplishes something brand new by being just a little bit old-fashioned.
“SHAZAM!” is a movie you don’t have to think very much about, because it lays everything out for you in a package that will send you home smiling, and that’s a good thing.