‘Shazam!’ unleashes wholesome superhero
Superheroes are such a big deal in pop culture these days, it’s easy to forget that these larger-than-life figures who sock bullies in the face and (mostly) walk a righteous path also have an innate appeal to children.
The latest DC Comics film “Shazam!” (★★★☆; rated PG-13; in theaters nationwide April 5) leans into that wish-fulfillment fantasy with superduper strength. And while genre tropes are very much in play, there’s a certain magic in this “Big”-meets-Superman affair in which an ancient wizard transforms a troubled teen into a buff, godlike guy with a light-up suit.
Director David F. Sandberg’s heroic tale takes place in a world where Superman and Batman save the day on a regular basis, though they can’t help 14-year-old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) with his issues. After losing his single mother in a carnival crowd when he was very young and bouncing around the foster system, Billy is a nomadic soul searching for a real home – as well as the truth about what happened to his mom – when he’s taken in by Philadelphia couple Victor (Cooper Andrews) and Rosa Vasquez (Marta Milans).
Their place already is packed with five other kids of various ages and colors, and Billy initially remains aloof. Beneath a tough exterior and sometimes delinquent personality, he does have a good heart, though, saving his new foster brother (who has disabilities) – and big-time Man of Steel fanboy – Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) from a school beatdown.
That puts him on the radar of dying wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), who’s desperately searching for a champion to wield seriously extraordinary abilities and protect the Earth from supernatural evil.
Billy says the magical guy’s name, and one lightning strike later, he’s an adult muscle man (Zachary Levi) who looks as if he just stepped off the pages of a 1940s comic.
While many of the DC movies thus far have tended toward the darker side, “Shazam!” arrives as almost a lighthearted alternative, with shades of nostalgia, thanks to “Ghostbusters”-style monsters and Christmastime shenanigans a la “Gremlins.”
It also is probably the closest yet to one of rival Marvel’s projects, with a clever narrative that dazzles when supersize Billy and Freddy partner up to figure out all of his Shazam-y abilities and become YouTube sensations. (There is of course a whole lesson on “with great power comes great respon-
sibility.” Thanks, Spider-Man.)
Every good guy needs a supervillain, however, and Shazam gets his in Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), an antagonist with an interesting back story, who’s given his prodigious talents by the Seven Deadly Sins.
But, really, the high-flying showdowns and the holiday-themed action-packed finale (which is highly satisfying, though it goes on a bit too long) are secondary.
“Shazam!” works because of its emphasis on friendship and family: Mrs. Vasquez has a bumper sticker that reads “I’m a foster mom: What’s your superpower?” that sums up the film’s warm-hug vibe.
Levi is essential to that because, for a guy not named Chris, he makes a pitch-perfect do-gooder.
There’s a youthful wonder and innocence he captures as the Fritochomping man-child hero, and he has all of the facial expressions and flossing skills (the dancing kind rather than the dental) to convey the pure excitement of a boy learning he can pretty much do anything.
Superman and Batman will never die, but in Shazam, a character who has been around for seven decades and is only now breaking through into the mainstream, youngsters have a new family-friendly hero to call their own.