SHAZAM (2019) — Sleeper Awakened

4/8/19 - Shazam (2019) - 5+/6-/10

Shazam is a kids designed superhero flick that has some crossover appeal and wins by never takes itself too seriously. Some of it works really well while other bits fall pretty flat, but it is an overall enjoyable Deadpool meets Superman for the youth and beyond. For me, it excelled at being personable and bringing the right flavor of kid friendly cheese to the theatrical plate, as opposed to Deadpool, which goes for similar joke stylings but does it with an incessant overindulgence in raunch and repetition, spoiling the meal. Shazam is mostly light fluff (but with a bitter burnt shell of loss and horror, to be noted) which allows for a pretty passive but pretty satisfactory film.

The weight of this film rests mostly upon Zachary Levi, which turned out to be a great choice. I never cared much for Chuck, but Levi is pretty good in this, bringing just the right vibe and awkward approachability. It is hard not to connect his proficient performance to that of Tom Hanks in Big (a film that they blatantly reference, but with a winking deftness). Both are able to bring the vibrancy, scattered indecision and big eyed wonder of youth to their displaced pseudo-adults, though Shazam comes across as a bit more age appropriate. Levi also plays well off of Grazer, who plays Freddy Freeman. Talks fast and provides a superb banter box for Levi’s Shazam. The rest of the cast is pretty decent, mostly nailing what they need to, but often somewhat generic.

There are plenty of quibbles and script deficiencies which keep Shazam grounded rather than soaring. Perhaps I am overly cynical but I kept questioning how these foster parents afforded the large house and all of these children? I can’t imagine all of that was with state funds. Similarly, my critical eye opened up when a bus was caught from a fall by the front window glass. C’mon! There is no way that glass is holding up the weight of the bus. Sure, these are nothing qualms, but they felt worthy of mention to cast a light on the rest of the feature.

The villains were also pretty poor. The grotesquely generic school bullies, who seem squeezed straight from an 80’s high school B-film, are beyond belief. Their interaction were pretty eye-roll inducing. Also eye-roll worthy was the CGI, namely the “sin demons”. They were pretty garbage to look at but also their functionality was lackluster. They are the personifications of “the seven deadly sins”, but they don’t capitalize on any of that; none of that being anthropomorphised or utilized. And what is their goal? Was it solely to escape from their prison or to wreak wide scale havoc, because they don’t really do either. As for Strong, he is a fine actor but has little to work with here. At least his arch plays off that of the protagonist and the theme of the film.

This film is mostly about family; losing it, searching for it, attaining it, its meaning, and its power. It provides the emotional hook that drives any of the feeling but also the meat of the plot. To get to there we have to have a fairly messed up origin (speak about it after a small spoiler warning at the end) but I suppose it is the necessary evil to set our hero on the righteous path. But with the resolution of such a tragic family story, I would have liked to have let that moment breath and be a thing to properly process, rather than being a bow to tie on the plot. Even for a children engaged vehicle, allowing for the depth and resonance would have played better for me.

Shazam may be a bit dumb or unrefined, but it is fun and has heart. It has something it wants to say and it is specifically designing itself for a more youthful audience, which may not be me but I can appreciate, especially when it throws bones to a more encompassing audience (ex. the “evil guy speech” was fantastic and really worked at poking fun at a cliched genre). Rarely were the jokes belly-laugh initiating but it kept churning and produced a smile more than a frown. It was a superhero film that flirted with doing its own thing, expressing itself most in its origin exploration, but settled into a purposeful but predictable frolic for all.

SPOILERS

What parent walks away from their terrified child? Her lackluster explanation for this was pretty damning from my perspective. Also, the detective work to find this missing parent was unconscionable. Just because she reverted back to her maiden name, they couldn’t investigate these possible Batson women? I get Billy not recognizing this, being solely and narrow-mindedly focused, but the cops and/or social workers should know better. Finally, this “non-hacker hacker” 8-year old found it all in a few hours?
I felt a little disappointed by shedding the body types and uniquenesses for the generic super physiques and what not. I know it is supposed to be the fantasized idealization and standard “supers’ look, but it felt like a little something was missing when they changed. It would have been nice for them to retain more of their physical singularities, and thus, themselves in their change. I don’t know, it just struck me while I was watching.