Finally another notch in the win column for DC. It accompanies Wonder Woman and not the dreadful Justice League, Batman v. Superman, Man of Steel or the by-the-numbers Aquaman. A less-serious adaptation of their Captain Marvel (known as Shazam by stupid people and DC’s failure in trademarking) was the right decision because not everybody in a universe should be dark and brooding, it’s pretty tired.
The core concepts involving Billy Batson remain intact while key details were updated to make the character more credible; he’s still an orphan but lives in a foster home with other kids from an Old Navy commercial. Billy is also a troublemaker, not the goody goody he was in the Forties and Fifties. Plus his enemies were (and will be) modified to keep them from being Superman copycats, see below.
Unlike other DC and (recent) MCU flicks, Shazam! starts with the villain’s journey since Captain Marvel’s powers come from a magical source protected by the last remaining wizard guarding the Rock of Eternity, aka Shazam. Back in the recent past, an adolescent Thaddeus Sivana was tested by Shazam to prove his worthiness. Obviously Sivana failed but from that day forward he became obsessed with finding the wizard. Through his wealthy family’s resources he discovers dozens of people who had similar experiences…and they too failed.
Then you meet Billy. An orphan with a long, troubled history of running away from every home he is placed in. Being part of a group or family gets in the way of his quest, finding the biological mother he lost at a carnival when he was a toddler. After making Philly’s finest look foolish with his latest antics to aid his efforts, Billy is given an ultimatum by child services. You can deduce the rest from the trailer.
Initially I was worried about Shazam! being mediocre since Hollywood loves to insert the predictable cliche known as the training montage, thus it would be a clone of Iron Man. I’m glad to report I was mostly wrong and its execution was amusing. Actor Zachary Levi is the main reason why the movie succeeds too. He did a fantastic job channeling the personality of a 15-year-old boy in a super-powered adult body. Mark Strong as Sivana was no slacker neither. He excels at being the menacing enemy as he did in Kick Ass and Sherlock Holmes; Shazam! was just better use of his talents. Other elements? It does borrow from The Incredibles, namely how the superhero tropes work in the real world, and a nod to Tom Hanks/Penny Marshall’s Big you have to watch for.
As expected, you need to stick around through the end credits and then some. A sequel? Pretty likely. Jokes? Yes. More importantly, at the finale, you see how Captain Marvel fits in the larger DC Universe which is currently a mess with the firing of Henry Cavill and Amy Adams and Ben Affleck quitting. Let’s see if the upcoming, super serious and dark Joker and next year’s Wonder Woman 1984 revives DC’s fortunes.
(New) Alamo Extras: Scenes from a Japanese action show; Trailers for Captain Pinoy (Thai movie) and Big; Captain Planet toy ad; Scenes from a Captain Marvel serial from the Forties called Scorpion Mummy; Scenes from the Saturday morning show Shazam! I used to watch in the Seventies; List of past Zachary Levi roles/appearances, most involve singing; and Neil Gaiman explaining the UK’s version of the hero called Marvel Man which would become Alan Moore’s Miracle Man.