“Even though am a huge fan of super-hero movies, I dont
think we are getting too much variety. I mean Aquaman was visually stunning but
as a movie it doesnt have any repeat value for me. Everything’s the same..even
DC is following Marvel formula now. I superhero movie are bor-“
SHAZAM!
“That was magical!”
SHAZAM!
DIRECTOR –DAVID F
SANDBERG
CAST- ZACHERY
LEVI, MARK STRONG, ASHER ANGEL, JACK DYLAN GRAZER AND OTHERS
DC or Marvel, the reason most of us these days love super hero movies or comic books in general is that may be you relate with the mythological 'Gods among us' aspect that DC stories tend to have or the relatable heroes with humanity aspect that most
Marvel stories have. Aside from all the action or the operatic epic story-lines
that examine our own humanity through these fantastic characters, think of the
very first reason that as a kid attracted you to comic books. It wasn't the
psychological depth of Batman or the social discrimination themes of X-men or the jokes the Avengers crack (yes that's what they have been boiled down to these days)..it
was purely wanting to be a superhero. As a kid you wanted nothing more than to
magically transform into a super-hero... but without all the mutation, criminal
activity or alien genocide tragic backstory behind it. The genius of Shazam (Yes I know his real name was Captain Marvel. But there is a wholeass story that I dont wanna get into right now) as
a character is just that. Its about a 15
year old kid who can turn into a flying,super- strong adult superhero by just saying a magic
word.
Didn't you as kids in lunchrooms ever have the conversation
about what would you do if you had super strength or hyper-speed or laser
beams? (I mean I still have them coz it matters to me more than budgeting) This movie actually celebrates that aspect of the fandom. The
one thing that always bugs me about any fantasy fiction (be it Harry Potter or
Lord of the Rings or Spiderman or zombie movies) is when the protagonist finds
out that he or she has magic powers or that some fantastic element exist but
they initially refuse to accept it or are burdened by their own personal issues
to actually be fascinated by it. That's the thing the especially bugs me about
Harry Potter as a character. Bitch you are an abused kid who found out he is a
wizard...any real kid would be putting their heart and life into figuring out EVERY FUCKING THING that they could do with those powers. It feels many a times that
characters in these stories don't ever have fantasy stories of their own. How can you not want to fly on brooms every
damn time if you had that power?! How can you living in the modern world are confused as to why dead people are walking and eating live people? Did you never play a video game?! Didn't you ever read kids stories as a kid?! I mean if you ever had any super-power in real life- be it climbing walls or kicking really fast. I bet the first thing any teenager exposed to so many games,books and movies would do is try to be a super-hero!
The best thing about DC movies has always been that they
place Gods among us. They place these weird characters (even non-superpowered
ones like Batman) in our real world and see how they would actually react and
how the world would react to them. Remember the first flight scene in Man of
Steel when Clark Kent first learns to fly? He is smiling like a kid who just
learned he could fly. Coz thats what just happened! (People still think MoS is
an emotion-less movie). In Wonder-woman too, when Diana first discovers her
powers she immediately wants to know what else she can do with them. Even in Aquaman where young Arthur is told by Vulko that he can swim really
fast and breathe under-water, he is awed by the things he can do.
While the earlier DC movies have concentrated on how we as a
society would react to these meta-humans (Man of Steel, Batman V Superman,
Suicide Squad), the later movies are beginning to concentrate on how these
powerful beings would react to us. Wonder Woman is between the two-capturing
both society’s reaction to a God as well as our impact on her. From Aquaman
onwards, this has started moving into the other direction where Arthur Curry
deals with his identity as well as his responsibility to his hidden underwater
kingdom. Shazam takes this focus on the personal lives of a meta-human to another level.
When Billy Batson gets his powers, he isn't completely freaked out by it or wants to turn back. The first thing he does is find out his recently made foster home friend Freddy. Freddy is a huge DC fanboy who has a collection of real world DC memorablia like the Batarang from BvS and numerous paper-clippings, merchandise etc. Billy and
Freddy are maybe initially freaked out but within minutes they get to what any
god-damn 15 year old would do if he was transformed into a magical super-hero... start testing powers. This is how Shazam even being a comedic movie still is weirdly realistic.
The humor comes organically from what would really happen if two teenagers were
testing out powers for the first time and not because Iron Man hasn't cracked a
joke for 10 minutes.
Other than the appealing to the wannabe superhero little boy
in you, what the movie really has going for it is the family aspect. I mean
most movies particularly the ones appealing to kids, try to shove in a family
message which doesn't appeal to me personally. But this movie treats the family
part very sincerely and genuinely stopping just two steps short of being
cheesy. There were scenes in the movie especially when a 3 year old Billy
Batson is unable to find his mom, that teared me up a bit. When Billy finally
finds out that who is real family is and then has to transform into Shazam to
save them...fucking hell..that scene really hit me in the heart. In the age of
epic inter-galactic battles or a toxic society reacting to super-heroes, a
movie having that kind of heart was refreshing.
Zachary Levi as the adult superhero Shazam captures
perfectly the feeling of being a child on the inside. Even though they never
share screen time, Asher Angel as Billy Batson and Zachery Levi as Shazam have
the perfect chemistry that each looks like a magical progression of the other.
The surprise package was Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddie. I could relate to him
the most as he is a sarcastic, know-it-all comic fanboy who uses his knowledge
of comic books to mask his insecurities. (That got a li'l too personal). Freddie
and Billy slowly but surely develop a natural friendship which forms the core
of the movie. All the other supporting cast is great especially Faithe C Herman
as lil Darla is just wayyy too cute. Billy Batson's foster parents especially
Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez is a
perfect gentle giant fatherly figure. While a movie like this understandably
concentrates on the hero, it surprisingly opens with the villain's backstory - giving Dr. Sivana a slight bit more depth than I thought it would have. Mark Strong is of course a great actor
especially in negative roles. While in terms of other DC villains, he is not
the greatest as a character coz well Dr. Sivana isn't that interesting as it is.
Any comic book fan knows who Shazam’s real villain is – Black Adam. (Oh Btw,
The Rock has been slated to play him). I understand why they use him in the first movie coz if they had Black Adam (THE
FREAKING ROCK) in Shazam’s first movie obviously the hero would’ve been
overshadowed.
Shazam is a small, personal (low-budget at around 70-80
million) super-hero movie. And it keeps its focus on the personal aspect
of it. That's not to say there isn't a grand climactic battle with some slo-mo and POV punches (nods to Man of Steel and a certain Mr. Snyder) Director David F Sandberg has mostly made
horror movies up to now and he uses those skills here as well. Shazam
might be a kids movie but there are some interestingly dark moments in it.
Sandberg also has a charming social media presence and a hilarious taste for
comedy. This is felt wholly through out the movie and mainly its marketing. I
really think a lot of movies could learn a thing or two from this movie’s
marketing. What you see in the trailers
just gives a basic idea of who and what Shazam is going to be about – A 15 year
old kid who lives in a shared foster home, suddenly gets transported to a
magical cave where a wizard grants him powers that turn him into an adult
powerful superhero. In case you didn't know absolutely anything about Shazam, that's what
the trailers let you know. And that my friends isn't even 0.5% of the movie. The
trailer so brilliantly choose to hide its best parts that you’ll never complain
that it showed a lot.
Although the music is a bit too nostalgia baiting for me
(They literally re-purposed the John Williams Superman theme for Shazam) it
isn't too bad. Most of the humor as I said is organic to the premise of
a kid discovering his powers, but some of the jokes look a bit forced. (almost Marvel-esque) But not more than a few. Sandberg has said that the inspiration behind
the movie were kids movies of the 80’s –Gremlins, Goonies, Ghostbusters, E.T.
etc. Adventure + horror + family. And He really does well to emulate the feel
coupled with some modern comic book movie sensibilities.
Even though I still hate Warner Bros. /DC for butchering
Justice League (#ReleasetheSnydercut) and Suicide Squad and stopping their
directors from elevating the genre to newer heights. I kinda like the new
direction they are taking after that debacle. Even though the movie is chock-full of references to
the Worlds of DC, it isn't set within any particular continuity. You don't need to watch 8
movies to enjoy it. WB is concentrating more on making self-contained movies
that you should enjoy on their own. They are also offering so much variety from an
immigrant story/first contact movie (Man of Steel) to a socio-political
operatic epic – (BvS), from a first world war story/discovery of humanity (Wonder Woman) to
a fantastical underwater kingdom (Aquaman) to a kid’s movie about a teenager
who turns into a adult superhero. Its a more wider buffet to choose from. Which
except for the Snyder’s 5 movie arc was the original plan (If only the fuckers would've let it happen Snyder basically was making an Endgame before the Endgame). They are making a truly
diverse multiverse. Not TV episodes for the next season. Although
a mid-credits scene sets up a sequel, I personally thought it was unnecessary, since the movie ended on a Super note. (Also, Warner Bros really needs to sort
its actors’ contract issues out)
So go ahead, take your kids to it to enjoy this one, go in
yourself and let the kid within you enjoy. Shazam is Total Timepass!
PS:- I have been
told by multiple people that they like me listing Easter Eggs/references, so
here they are (mild spoiler alert. But don't worry, I will list them without context)
- The Batarang, Superman bullet etc. Are obvious. Am skipping the really obvious ones.
- Shazam and Freddy are playing Mortal Kombat in which Shazam is playing the Thunder God Rayden. Shazam himself has lightening based powers. DC has frequently collaborated with Mortal Kombat creators to create games like Injustice. A certain character also screams “Finish Him” in Shao Khan’s voice from Mortal Kombat. Same character who also looks a bit like Ryu from Street Fighter also screams “Hadoken” while throwing a laser ball. That's a Street fighter AND Mortal Kombat reference in one movie!
- . Although the movie is set in Philadelphia, the name of the school the foster kids go to is Fawcett school. This is a reference to Billy Batson’s city in the comics and also to the original company that owned Shazam before DC bought it- Fawcett comics.
- . There is a scene where Shazam and Freddy are discussing the length of his powers – When they say “More powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”. This is a reference to Superman’s description in the widly popular Superman radio serial from the 50’s –“Faster than a speeding bullet, More powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”
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