"Billy Batson, I Choose You. Say My Name So My Powers Will Become Yours..."
With Marvel managing to sneak in the release of the rather excellent, Captain Marvel, earlier on last month, the originally titled superhero of the same name hits cinemas this week under the mantra of Shazam!, an alias which DC's most colorful character yet has been burdened with since the early 1970's after a drawn-out legal battle regarding copyright issues and other boring nonsense. Acting as the next chapter in the slightly improved re-invention of the DC Extended Universe, Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director, David F. Sandberg, helms a superhero movie which carries on the silly and enjoyable sensibility of 2018's Aquaman as we are introduced to the character of Asher Angel's Billy Batson, a troublesome orphan who amidst attempting to locate his long lost family who abandoned him as a child, is quickly handed down the magical and mystical powers belonging to Djimon Hounsou's (Serenity) titular aging wizard in an attempt to locate his long awaited successor and battle against the evil spirits of the seven deadly sins. With Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman setting the high benchmark for entries into the DC Universe, Sandberg's movie doesn't exactly hit such lofty superhero heights, but with a charming, lighter tone and a shorter sense of scale which trades the end of the universe for much quieter stakes, Shazam! is slapstick fun with the added stern baldness of Mark Strong, an element which every film should include.
Coined by myself as Man of Steel meets Instant Family, Sandberg's journey into the world of comic book heroes does seem like the first entry into the DC universe to actively evoke the joyous family-friendly nature of Marvel's equivalent gargantuan franchise, a movie which trades gloomy impending doom for a more down-to-earth tale of a hero who after being blessed with such enormous power, does not have the slightest idea in how to use them properly. With the central role shared between Angel and the excellently cast, Zachary Levi, (Thor: Ragnarok) the film's biggest strength is the relationship between both the reluctant hero and the superhero obsessed, Freddy, as played by Jack Dylan Grazer of It- Chapter One fame, and whilst it would have nicer for the film to indulge ever so slightly more on the relatable elements of the piece, the film does work best when left in the company of the leading duo as they find out the best ways in which to make the most out of such awesome power. Whilst it's unfortunate for most of the top-end comedic gags to be wasted in the film's trailers alongside a concluding fight scene which seems to go on for the same length as the Brexit negotiations, Shazam! is the lightest and most Easter egg ridden entry into its' respective universe so far, and with DC somehow not managing to produce a stinker with its' last two releases, it seems to fair to say the DCEU is finally heading on the straight and narrow path after all this time.
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