A boy given abilities to become an adult superhero in times of need enters the DC Cinematic Universe when young Billy Batson finds himself gifted with the power of the wizard Shazam. What this means is the teenager, when he says "shazam!", transforms into a costumed, musclebound hero (Zachary Levi)... but doesn't develop the brain to match.
The latest champion in an age-old battle between good and evil, Billy Batson mostly enjoys goofing off with his new-found powers, despite the urging of his best friend and superhero enthusiast, Freddy. When he's sought out by a villainous physicist (Mark Strong) embodying ancient evils, Batson will need to transform himself into an actual hero, not just someone that looks like one.
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90%415 reviews
In 2015 Steven Spielberg made headlines when he predicted superhero films would ‘go the way of the western’. Sure, he was taken massively out of context, but it is interesting to see how, four years on, the genre shows no signs of slowing, either financially or creatively.
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Superhero stories are inherently juvenile and if you want to get upset about that observation it's worth reflecting that the most iconic characters in the genre include a guy who dresses up as a bat and a nerd who can climb walls. They are children’s stories at base, no matter how many fans want to cite books by Alan Moore or Frank Miller as seminal texts.
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"Shazam!" suggests that if you're taking a superhero's powers deadly seriously, you may not be totally connecting with the spirit of the comics. The movie says: You've got to giggle at this stuff. That's part of the adventure.
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Buoyant and unpretentious, Shazam! aims low and mostly succeeds, a kid-friendly caper powered with enough energy to keep its target audience engaged with a fun central conceit that plays like a cross between Big and Superman.
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In a genre that often tries way too hard to be taken seriously, Shazam! is a pile of good-natured fun.
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"Shazam" exudes a boyish spirit appropriate for a superhero origin story about a teenager who gets invested with powers far beyond his adolescent imagination. This latest DC adventure is, however, a mixed bag that doesn't quite work.
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...anybody suffering from superhero fatigue, but for the rest of us it's an engaging, heartfelt ode to the slightly jerky teenager inside us all and our often untapped potential to do the right thing.
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Shazam!, like the ridiculousness of its name, never takes itself too seriously. It's a sugar rush of a film, great while it lasts but has you plummeting off the high soon afterward.
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Levi is a delight in the central role, hilariously conveying the goofy adolescent within the strapping body of his musclebound superhero.
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The hardest power to depict onscreen is the wisdom of Solomon, but Shazam! makes clever decisions, mixing middle school snark with disarming sweetness.
Full reviewShazam! is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV and Neon Rentals.
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