Rent Shazam! (2019)

This was a Big superhero movie - see what I did there? - Shazam! review by Strovey

Depending on your viewpoint they will definitely be parts of Shazam that will annoy you. I have to be honest I find the whole premise of superhero movies a bit silly and I never showed an interest in any of the comics from a young age until an adult. My boat was never afloat. I will watch them on film and I have viewed all of interminable Marvel Universe series, with the explosions, and so forth, but in general I like these type of films with a light touch, so Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, oh I know they have a serious side but the touch is light, now we can add Shazam!

I would say this film is a great big smile of a movie, it is clearly made to be enjoyed, to be entertained. With the casting of Zachary Levi the makers got the perfect focal point. He exudes the joy of being a boy in a grown-up superhero body with the fun and underlying seriousness this brings. So far so Big, so far so daft.

The rather bland peril given to Billy, his alter ego and his best friend are very ‘comic-book baddy’ boilerplate and although they are given to the very capable and charismatic Mark Strong the whole story was much less interesting or important to me than the dilemma that being Shazam brings up for Billy and his best friend and indeed surrogate family. It is much more compelling.

Therein lies problems for Shazam!, it’s great and it’s fun but it can’t escape it’s superhero restrictions. Boring pointless baddies whose motive and plans seem ludicrous and ill-thought-out. Although this does give the film and most joyous and fun ending.

The special effects, set pieces and overall look of the film are good, A super impossible situation mixed into a blandly normal world is tried for in many superhero films and with Shazam! this attempt is definitely more hit than miss. The direction and editing move the story on at a good whip and the film never sags which in these types of films can definitely be a problem.

Overall Shazam! is a bright, joyful, fun-filled film and with the genius casting of Zachary Levi in a role, he was seemingly born to play you have a film with way more summits than troughs and you should get just over two hours of entertainment.

You cannot really ask for much more can you?

Brilliant - Shazam! review by TD

Brilliant both me and my partner enjoyed this film , suitable for family viewing , think the kiddies would love it x

Children’s comic superhero film - Shazam! review by Alphaville

After a long-winded opening 35 minutes, a 14yo boy is transformed into superhero Zachary Levi. After that the plot moves along pacily enough as he explores his new powers, eventually to face off against supervillain Mark Strong. It’s kids’ stuff, with the usual superhero cgi and generic orchestral score, plus suitably right-on messages about family and empowerment, but it’s watchable enough in an undemanding way.

Irritating - Shazam! review by GH

This is nothing like the other DC films; juvenile and irritating. Probably aimed at children, not adults. Cannot imagine what the follow up will be like.

Okay fun film - Shazam! review by HM

Funny and a send up really. Mark Strong doing his usual baddy act; talk about typecast. Entertaining hogwash. May as well just make films like this in animation format, most of the good stuff in it is CGI anyway. The Incredibles were much better films and managed to send the subject up too. However, worth a watch, kids will enjoy it most methinks.

Funny, family friendly Superhero film - Shazam! review by GI

A family friendly addition to the DC comic book universe, where usually only violent and dark films ensue but here we have an overly long but enjoyable jape with plenty of laugh out loud moments. This is a superhero genre film played for laughs, a little clichéd but still very entertaining. The story is fairly genre basic and predictable with a young streetwise kid, Billy (Asher Angel), placed in foster care but who keeps getting in trouble. He is selected by an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to wield powers to fight a team of nasty demons who congregate together in a super baddie played by Mark Strong, who is clearly having fun but does this sort of thing standing on his head. When Billy says 'Shazam' he transforms into the adult hero who finds he has powers and can buy beer! It all culminates in the usual big punch up with masses of destruction and full of jokes about super powers and the genre in general. This is good fun and can be enjoyed by the whole family so it's well worth an evening's viewing. (There's a scene mid end credits so don't switch off too soon!)