What do you get when a troubled teenage gets super powers. You get Shazam, a comic book movie directed by David F. Sandberg, that’s one of the best in the DC film cannon. This film succeeds mainly because of the lighter tone. Billy Batson, played well by Asher Angel, is the street smart teenage boy, who was abandoned years before by his mother. Unlike DC’s, Batman, he isn’t deeply scarred by losing his parents.
Billy Batson ends up in a foster home, after stealing a police car. It is here that he meets Freddie Freeman, played by Jack Dylan Grazer. He isn’t like Billy, but is instead a comic book fan, who is handicapped, but never lets it get him down. Unfortunately Freddie is bullied at school. The bullies catch up with him at school and assault him. Billy Batson runs away from them, when they turn on him. He runs onto a subway train and evades the bullies. The train is commandeered by a mysterious wizard, where Billy is taken to a cave. The wizard needs a champion, to defeat Doctor Sivana, played by Mark Strong who has taken the seven deadly sins. He is found worthy and the wizard tells him to say Shazam, and Billy becomes the champion. The wizard crumbles into dust after this. Billy comes back home, and shares his secret with Freddie Freeman. This is a dream come true for Freddie and he is delighted to work with Shazam, played by Zachary Levi. Together they test the level of his powers, and Freddie posts the videos on YouTube, calling Shazam, Captain Sparklefingers. He’s given this nickname because of the lightning that shoots out of his fingers. Shazam enjoys his powers, but uses them mostly for the sheer thrill of it. He even uses his fame for profit, charging people for selfies. He finally gets a chance to prove his worth as a hero, when Doctor Sivana comes on the scene. Doctor Sivana is totally evil, and has a grudge against Shazam, because Sivana was denied the powers by the wizard, when he was a boy. Shazam engages him in battle but can’t beat him. The evil doctor says he wants Shazam’s powers, so he can be all powerful. Doctor Sivana comes to Billy’s house, and tells him he’ll spare his family, if gives him his powers. Billy agrees, and Sivana creates a rift in the house, that leads to the cave, where they both got their powers. All of the foster children follow. Batson turns into Shazam, and he holds onto the septer, and says the word Shazam, but breaks it in half, changing the children into variations of Shazam. The doctor flees and goes to a carnival, where the seven deadly sins are released, causing havoc. Among the people at the winter carnival is Santa Claus. He is not shown in a good light, but as sniveling coward running from the seven deadly sins. Later he is more than happy to give a television interview, after Shazam and the rest of his super powered family beat Doctor Sivana, and the seven deadly sins, and good triumphs over evil. The film ends when the next day at school, Freddie Freeman who has been bragging that Shazam was his best friend, gets a special visit from him. Shazam says Freddie is his best friend. He then says he also has another pal, who comes in, that being Superman, shown from the logo down.
There are a few scenes in this film that make points. One scene in the movie, shows the name of the school as Fawcett Central. This is a nod to the original publisher of Shazam, formally known as the original Captain Marvel, whose name was changed due to legal reasons. This movie takes place in Philadelphia. There is a touch of irony in the film, when Shazam and Freddie are sitting at the top of the steps of the museum of art. They talk about how another film hero, Rocky Balboa, ran up those same steps. Another scene shows Shazam, when he first becomes a hero. He stops a convenience store robbery. Its done tongue and cheek, with Freddie even saying that Shazam should see if he’s bulletproof, which he is. After this, Freddie and Shazam sample some beer, which they spit out, because they don’t like the taste. These are some of the things that make this film enjoyable, making it better than most DC movies, with the exception of Wonder Woman. This film deserves a sequel, and hopefully will get one.