{"id":990,"date":"2019-03-28T00:35:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T07:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/?p=990"},"modified":"2019-03-28T00:35:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T07:35:15","slug":"movie-review-shazam-reviewed-by-jake-hardison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/movie-review-shazam-reviewed-by-jake-hardison\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: Shazam (Reviewed by Jake Hardison)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"index\"In the wake of the multi-billion dollar success of this James Wan\u2019s\u00a0Aquaman<\/i>, 2019 may have had a slow start, but what will undoubtedly be a gargantuan year in film and nerd fandom alike has already got its feet moving. Following last year\u2019s massive box office numbers and record smashes by way of super sequels, franchise phenomenons, and live action reboots of animation classics, this year is set to see all that and then some. From the outside, those with more jaded perspectives might see this as nothing but more of the same stuff, but for many fans who have been busting the block for decades, some of what we get to see on the big screen today would be unthinkable even just ten or fifteen years ago. And the latest in unthinkable: two\u00a0Captain Marvel<\/i>\u00a0movies less than a month apart.<\/p>\n

Okay now, that\u2019s a little bit misleading. Of course, the folks over at Marvel are currently celebrating the huge success of their first female-lead feature, a classic character that\u2019s been around for half a century. But many people may not know that 30 years and several copyright lawsuits earlier, a completely different character held the moniker of \u2018Captain Marvel\u2019, one that has always been separate from what would eventually become the Marvel Comics franchise. The original version of this character seemed to draw heavily from Superman (super-strong, lightning fast, flight, bulletproof, etc). Today\u2019s version of the character, now known simply as, \u2018Shazam!\u2019 (are you starting to put the pieces together?), has most of these powers and then some, yet also seems to draw heavily from, you guessed it, Tom Hanks\u2019s character in the 1988 comedy,\u00a0Big<\/i>. Go back ten to fifteen years and try to pitch that movie.<\/p>\n

However, while canon in the world of Jason Momoa\u2019s Arthur Curry and Gal Gadot\u2019s Wonder Woman, this movie feels like a departure from the DCEU as we know it.\u00a0Shazam!<\/i>\u00a0follows the story of\u00a0Billy Batson\u00a0(Asher Angel), a Philadelphia teenager who\u2019s sharp-wittedly mischievous nature sees him running from one foster home after another. After being forced to settle in with a group foster home that is equal parts dorky and hilarious,\u00a0Billy\u00a0finds himself teleported to the cave of an old wizard (Djimon Honsou) who endows\u00a0Billy\u00a0with the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. By saying the acronym of their names,\u00a0Billy\u00a0transforms into caped champion of\u00a0Shazam\u00a0(Zachary Levi). The stakes of the film are relatively low, and it\u2019s goofy in the most charming way, yet it feels like exactly what the DCEU needed.<\/p>\n

The plot is consistently sensible fun, continuing a long-running DC trend connecting to both Greek mythology as well as Christian parables (Yes. These things are both in\u00a0Shazam!,\u00a0<\/i>the movie). The film\u2019s antagonist,\u00a0Dr. Sivana\u00a0(Mark Strong), is not exactly a denouncement of the rogue\u2019s gallery of cheesy \u201cbig bad\u201d type villains we\u2019ve been seeing in these movies lately, but his connection to the story is well realized in a way feels extremely refreshing. His story is one that revolves around childhood redemption in a way that mirrors that of our hero in a much closer way than you might expect. However, most of the movie\u2019s charm lives in the relationships it sets up between\u00a0Billy\u00a0and his de facto family. The time that it takes to set up these connections is what makes small stake seem bigger than any power-crazed demon lord, or swirling ring of trash in the sky.<\/p>\n

Every other moment of this movie is satisfyingly outrageous, but at the same time the brainchild of director David Sandberg delivers so many key elements that, frankly, are missing from the franchise\u2019s previous installments. Taking a step back from apocalypse-level themes with innately motivated antagonists and overly dark tones was the perfect step.\u00a0Shazam!\u00a0<\/i>allows itself to be so light that almost all the humor lands, yet it tells an emotional story that families of all different shapes can connect to and enjoy.<\/p>\n

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Release Date:\u00a0<\/strong>April 5, 2019<\/p>\n

Starring:\u00a0<\/strong>Asher Angel, Zachary Levi, Djimon Hounsou, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews<\/p>\n

Director:\u00a0<\/strong>David F. Sandberg<\/p>\n

Distributor:\u00a0<\/strong>Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

Genre:\u00a0<\/strong>Action \/ Comedy \/ Adventure \/ Fantasy<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0<\/strong>PG-13<\/p>\n

Runtime:\u00a0<\/strong>132 minutes<\/p>\n

Official Website:\u00a0<\/strong>www.shazammovie.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Official Social Media Pages:<\/strong><\/p>\n