Review: Shazam!

Remember when superheroes were for kids? Eh, probably not: Tim Burton's Batman back in 1989 pretty much sunk that boat, and since then taking things way too seriously has been the hallmark of the grown-up superhero movie. How weird is it that we're getting a Joker movie that nobody under the age of 25 should see? Creepy murder clowns: they're not just for kids anymore.

All of which is kind of strange, because the one thing superheroes really can do better than just about any other genre is speak to the youth. The phrase "adolescent power fantasies" used to be thrown around a lot in comic-book circles when comics were trying to get out from under the influence of superheroes; the difficult thing today is explaining exactly why it was seen as a bad thing when it leads to a movie like Shazam!.

When orphan 13 year-old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is given super-powers by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to defeat the running amok Seven Deadly Sins and their human puppet Dr Sivana (Mark Strong), he does what any teen would do: uses his all-grown-up superhuman form (Zachary Levi) to buy beer, get out of school, and become a YouTube sensation by doing nutty stunts. 

This is the DC universe in kid-friendly mode, ramping up the silliness and keeping the tone light without depriving audiences of superhero thrills. To be fair, the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel is definitely one of their sillier characters, and with a Mr Mind cameo - look him up - this is definitely steering into that side of the superhero world.

There's a lot of comedy here, but beyond that this as much about family and friendship – Billy’s growing bond with fellow group home resident Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) is the surprisingly tender heart of this film – as it is about running around punching bad guys. Levi gives a note-perfect performance as a kid gleefully enjoying his superhero powers the most when he’s using them to do the least, while Grazer rapidly becomes a perfect sidekick and Strong... well, he does what he can with an underdrawn character. 

Some of the jokes aren’t the freshest, but even the old “let’s test your powers” routines are fun to watch and when things start to get heartfelt this still had a bunch of strange but fitting cards to play. This really does get just about everything right, and the result is easily the strongest DC universe film since Wonder Woman. Shazam! is all-ages fun that’s all-ages funny; with darker superhero films looming on the horizon, it’s the comic relief you didn’t know you needed.

- Anthony Morris

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