Starring Zachary Levi and Mark Strong
Directed by David F. Sandberg
Created in 1939, appearing in Fawcett Comics under a different name (we'll come to that), the same year as Batman, and one year after Superman, for modern audieces Shazam is perhaps one of the lesser known comic book characters to make it to the big screen, despite appearing in several film serials and television programs, both live action and animated, over the years. It is widely considered to be the best-selling comic book title for several years during the 1940s. This film version has been over 10 years in development, and now becomes the seventh installment in the DC Extended Universe. Rated 12A, it is notably lighter in tone and more humourous than previous movies in the series. It tells the story of foster child Billy Batson, (Asher Angel), who,after a chance encounter with the eponymous wizard, is given the ability to turn into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levy, star of TV's action-comedy Chuck) just by saying the wizard's name. Whilst coming to terms with his new-found powers (super strength, speed, flight... the usual) he becomes drawn into a battle with Sivana (the great Mark Strong); it's something to do with the Seven Deadly Sins, the Rock of Eternity, and infinite power.
There is much comedy to be found in Billy's learning his powers. As an adult, he accompanies his best friend and foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) to a convenience store to do what every teenage kid thinks they want to do, buy beer; but discovering that they hate the taste, Billy and Freddie settle for soda, candy and chips. In the process, Billy foils an attempted hold up; Freddie, himself a comic book nerd, sets about documenting his friend's abilities on video and posting them on YouTube, where they go viral. Billy exploits this to the full, skipping school, entertaining crowds on the street for money, and posing for selfies. His anonymity is seemingly assured, since he can always revert to his younger form, which he does at one point to evade danger, but also to use the bathroom, because he can't pee in his all-in-one red bodysuit. At a Mall, he "helps" people by shooting lightning into their cell phones as he passes, cheerily calling out "your phone's charged" whilst doing so. When Shazam, after an argument with Freddy, shoots off some lightning, he accidentally hits a school bus passing over a bridge, causing it to teeter perilously, and then fall. He of course saves it using his super-strength, which further annoys Freddy. In the ensuing chaos, Sivana shows up, keen to steal Shazam's powers. Although Billy escapes, Freddy is taken hostage and back to the family.
There is very much something of the accidental hero about Shazam. He creates mayhem through not knowing what he can do, at the film's climax he accidentally bestows powers on his foster siblings, creating a team of heroes, which paves the way temptingly for any future sequels. But he does come to act responsibly. He comes to love those he initially rejected, having been determined to track down his mother, and they welcome him into the clan. So whilst the emphasis is on levity, it is eventually clear that he can join the ranks of noble DC heroes. The film is peppered with visual and spoken references to those characters, from the Batman logos seen on kids' backpacks at school, to Freddy's claim that he owns a bullet once fired at Superman himself. There's no post-modern implication that this universe is real whilst the comic book world is fake. This is the same club. Shazam even asks his friend Superman to visit his school during lunch break, and the post credits scene pokes fun at Aquaman, and particularly the recent film version.
Apparently clocking in at 132 minutes, some have felt the film to be too long, but it rattles along briskly nonetheless. This is an origin story, after all, and ample time is taken to establish the character's history and circumstances. The initial scene in which the young Thaddeus Sivana discovers and fails to gain control of the rock of Eternity, being deemed unworthy, is a little stretched, but is done in a very creepy and atmospheric way. It's also crucial to the ensuing plot. There is a subplot in which the teenage Billy tries to track down his Mother, from whom he was separated as a child whilst at a funfair. It has been his drive up to this point, and the reason for his consistently running away from foster care. He eventually succeeds, with the help of his new family, and although his Mother ultimately rejects him, saying she could not care for him as a 17 year old and that he would be better cared for by others, this serves to strengthen his bond with his foster-siblings, which itself leads to a satisfying moment during the climax when Billy's powers are bestowed on them too, creating a proto Team Shazam, which will hopefully be explored in any future installments if this does become a franchise. Family is a central theme throughout; Billy finds his, Sivana turns on his.
It's impossible to talk about Shazam without talking about Captain Marvel, his original name. At first he was not a property of DC (National Comics Publications); DC had brought a long-running legal action against publisher Fawcett Comics claiming copyright infringement against Superman. The case was settled out of court in 1953, and the Captain Marvel name acquired by DC, who revived the property in 1972. By this time, Marvel Comics had launched their own Captain Marvel, initially Mar-Vell, in 1967, hence Shazam was used as the new moniker for the original character. 2019 happens to see two Captain Marvel films, DC's Shazam and Marvel's Captain Marvel, coincidentally both featuring the Beninese actor Djimon Hounsou, in unconnected roles. In the world of film today, Marvel Studios leads the field by some distance with their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a series of initially standalone films introducing different characters, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and so on, which have gradually become fully integrated. The MCU film Avengers: Endgame, featuring well over 30 charactes from the comics, recently became the highest grossing film of all time at the box office. For a long time DC kept their heroes separated, bar the odd sly reference, and found success with the Superman films of the 1970s and 80s starring Christopher Reeve, the Tim Burton incarnation of Batman and its sequels, culminating in the huge critical, commercial and Oscar winning accomplishments of director Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Seeing the rampant benefit of the MCU approach, DC came to the party late, attempting to imitate their rivals, starting with Man of Steel, a Superman origin story in 2013, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice three years later, among others. Noticeably darker in atmosphere and content, results have been mixed. Despite some high points - in 2017 Wonder Woman, the first Superhero film to be directed by a woman and feature a female lead, took over $820m worldwide - it is generally acknowledged that for whatever reason it hasn't quite worked out to the same extent, and it seems the future will predominantly see a return to independent ventures such as the impending Joker. To add to the mix, both Marvel and DC have developed small screen offerings on Network and streaming television platforms. Arguably in this case, DC have the edge, but the issue will run and run.
On its own terms, regardless of the grand scheme, Shazam is a pleasing adventure. It's funny, exciting, scary and rousing in all the right places. It has proved a modest success, taking over $360m worldwide - if that can be considered modest - and a sequel is more or less guaranteed. A spin off based around Black Adam, Shazam's antagonist, is also bubbling under and could begin filming in 2020 with Dwayne Johnson attached, perhaps followed by an inevitable crossover. Has Shazam saved the DCEU? Of course not. But it does at least show that as the comic book movie juggernaut rolls on there are still a few interesting and enjoyable places for it to go.
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For those interested, Shazam is made up of the initials of famous mythical figures (and one historical).
S - Wisdom of Solomon
H - Strength of Hercules
A - Stamina of Atlas
Z - Power of Zeus
A - Courage of Achilles
M - Speed of Mercury
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