‘Billy Batson, I choose you as champion…’
The DC Extended Universe, as DC insist on calling it, has been pretty much an unmitigated disaster. The franchise has gone from being underwhelming (Man of Steel) to an actual laughing stock (Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad) to the point where there is now a bunch of movies in that franchise that I just haven’t seen. How can you make a film like Justice League such a nonevent to the point that nobody I know has seen it? It’s almost impressive. Anyway, it is clear that a rethink is needed. Standalone films have worked well recently with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Joker both bringing home acclaim and plaudits. Shazam! follows in that tradition, and while it isn’t an unqualified success, it is definitely a step in the right direction.
Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a troubled orphan who finally finds refuge in his new foster family and his superhero obsessed brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer). By some wild twist of fate, Batson becomes the champion for an ancient wizard against the evil Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), a maniacal misanthrope who can summon the physical embodiment of the seven deadly sins at will.
It is clear what director David F. Sandberg is going for here. While it isn’t quite Stranger Things but for superheroes, Sandberg is certainly evoking the past, particularly the work of Spielberg and Harold Ramis. The hard edged Ghostbusters with it’s dual child/adult appeal is a jumping off point and, at its best, Shazam! occasionally scales those same dizzy heights. Those moments are few and far between however, and they rely solely on the charisma of Zachary Levi who is excellent as the titular protagonist. It’s a good job really because Mark Strong phones it in as yet another Hollywood villain and the script is not as funny as it thinks it is.
I enjoyed Shazam! It isn’t revolutionary, but crucially for a film within the DCEU, it isn’t terrible either. It’s fine. And that’ll do for now.