Shazam Review

Shazam is a hilarious and charming edition to the growing DCU. This movie is about Billy Batson, a boy bouncing around foster homes, who is given the ability to become an adult superhero when he says a magic word. Zachary Levi gives an incredible performance. He plays a kid stuck in an adult's body perfectly. He also impresses in the action scenes. Asher Angel gives a fantastic performance. Even when his character is a jerk, you cannot help but sympathize with him. He nails all the emotional scenes he is given and almost brought a tear to my eye. Jack Dylan Grazer gives a really good performance. By the second act I was fully on board with his character, but he took me a bit to warm up to. His dynamic with Levi is the core of the film and all their interactions are highlights. Mark Strong gives a great performance. He balances the line between scary and campy perfectly coming across as intimidating, but also funny. Djimon Hounsou gives a decent performance in a small supporting role. Grace Fulton and Faithe Herman are great as some of Billy’s foster friends. Ian Chen and Jovan Armamd both give good performances but not given a lot to do. David F. Sandberg did a fantastic job directing. The action sequences are well shot and a ton of fun to watch. He brings a style that makes everything look like a live action comic book. The script is great with well developed characters, numerous laugh out loud moments and a fair amount of heart. The main characters interactions are always fun to watch. Even the villain was pretty well developed. At 132 minutes the movie feels long, but it never drags. The first act is a bit slow as there is a lot of setup, but once the second act starts the movie only gets better from there. Overall Shazam has some minor issues but is a ton of fun that I highly recommend.
8.5/10