‘Shazam!’ Review
Shazam!, directed by David Sandberg, is one of the first superhero films of 2019, and a perfect double feature to balance out the slew of horror films releasing shortly, including Pet Semetary and Jordan Peele’s sophomore film, Us.
Billy Batson (Asher Angel), our young hero, was orphaned as a toddler, but over the years this didn’t stop him from running away from every foster family in search of his mother. Now its Christmas time in Philadephia and Billy has found himself in his seventh foster home with the Vasquez, and their 5 adopted children. Simultaneously, a great battle is brewing as the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) is in need of a champion to defeat monsters determined on causing chaos in our world, and their champion, Doctor Sivana (Mark Strong). Running out of time, the wizard chooses Billy as his champion, granting him with the powers of the seven wizards all by saying the magical word “Shazam!”, which turns him into the superhero we are all familiar with, Shazam (Zach Levis).
Ok, now let me be blunt with you for a second, Zach Levis in an inflated red superhero suit is about as cheesy as you would expect, and, yes, this is basically a superhero version of the 1988 film Big, but that is what makes Shazam…
