I got a chance to see Shazam! at one of the early Fandango screenings last night. Let me just say that I cannot wait to see this again April 5th.
If you follow Comic Book Dads at all, you know we are DC homers just a bit. So, of course I had high hopes for this movie and it did not disappoint. Now, on with the SPOILER FREE review! Holey Moley Great news about the marketing for this movie is that the trailers gave away nothing. The origin was just a portion of what this movie delivered. The character development throughout is what really made this movie. I think a movie succeeds when you care about about the characters involved and Sandberg accomplishes that. The first act was all origin and set up. They did a great job of making Sivana truly wicked. For a villain that not even most DC fans know about, he will now be etched into one of the best movie baddies to come out recently. When Billy gets his powers and all the antics that ensue with him and Freddy, those are the moments of true wish fulfillment that makes this movie so fun. What kid doesn't want to be a superhero? Shazam and Freddy even deliver some conflict that enriched the story. The rest of the foster family is the nice cherry on top. There were some laugh out loud moments that the family was brought. The third act was a big surprise. There was genuine heart ache for Billy. The final battle had some great twists that if you were a casual comic or DC fan, you would not see coming. My wife (who doesn't read comic) said the twist was her favorite part. There were some great Easter eggs. This movie is very much connected to the rest of the DCEU. Another thing that made this movie great, much like Aquaman, it used the source material. I love this. I think too often comic book movies don't use the great story lines that are already there ready for the big screen. If you want to read up on some Shazam to get ready for the movie, I highly recommend you check out Geoff John's New 52 Shazam. Finally, I will caution... there are some moments that are pretty scary if you have little ones. So, I would think about seeing it first if you have kiddos under 8 or 9. Get your tickets. Go see it. It is fun, full of heart, and a fresh take on superhero movies. 4.5 stars. -CBD
2 Comments
Kalor
3/24/2019 05:35:33 pm
So many dads out there hearing "it's great for kids" and "surpringly scary something something horror director". This is the site that needs to break that down. Do I take my ten year old? Do we see blood?
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CBD
3/24/2019 05:46:46 pm
There are a couple of moments that get a little violent. Also, there are a few moments that are just outright scary. I don't want to give too much away by telling you what scenes they are.
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