3 Short Paragraphs: Shazam!

2019, David F. Sandberg (Lights Out) -- download

I knew I would like Captain Mar... ahem, I mean Shazam more than I liked any other DC movie. That's not a stretch though, is it? The reputations of the Superman and Batman led movies soured many to the ... franchise (universe? series?) even if you ignore the relative popularity of Wonder Woman and Aquaman (of which I still need a post for; maybe a re-watch is due). Anywayz, this obviously charming and kid-directed film about a kid who gains super powers from an old wizard is so polar opposite of everything else DC, its not surprising they let someone else do something entirely different from all the others.

So yes, Captain Marvel, has been re-branded as Shazam when DC gave up on re-claiming the name from Marr-Vell, an evil demagogue Kree. But twelve year old me is still screaming, "But his name is NOT Shazam, that's what he yells out to become the superhero!" but in this movie, none of that really matters, as we know him as Captain Sparkle Fingers. I am not sure why my twelve year old self is still so loud on this concept considering that the only comic I remember from then involved Sivana wearing a speaker around his neck that would say something like "wuzzle wuzzle" every time Shazam said SHAZAM, which in four-colour logic meant Billy Batson could not change into his caped alter-ego. Yep, that's pretty much all I remember. That, and the worm.  Hee.

So, they don't really even bother connecting this movie to the Justice Flops but in the most tenuous nipples-up, first season of Super Girl manner. Billy Batson is an orphan who is really pretty much a brat. Shazam, the wizard not the not-named hero, is desperate for someone to take his magical mantle and identifies Billy as the best choice. Not really, but beggars/choosers. Billy is currently living in a group home with the Best Family Ever including a crippled Snark who ends up as Billy's "manager" once he starts transforming into Chuck (Zachary Levi; Thor: The Dark World). The first and third acts of this movie were brilliant, wonderful not-just-origin-story plotting but I found the middle bit a bit strained. You see, Billy is a bit of a dick and he really only wants superpowers to be popular and powerful; and his "manager" doesn't do much other than support him in this endeavour. FB only changes his mind when Billy doesn't pander to his own exploitive requests. But once Billy has to become heroic (third act) he really dives headlong into it, which pulls it all back together again.

Kent says...