Movie review on shazam

 

From New Line Cinema comes "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," which continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!," is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam.

• Rating: PG-13 (Sequences of Action|Language|Violence)

• Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

• Original Language: English

• Director: David F. Sandberg

• Producer: Peter Safran

• Writer: Henry Gayden, Chris Morgan

• Release Date (Theaters): Mar 17, 2023  Wide

• Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2023

• Box Office (Gross USA): $53.5M

• Runtime: 2h 10m

• Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

• Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital

• Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

• View the collection: DC Universe

 "Shazam!" is a 2019 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Directed by David F. Sandberg, the movie follows the story of a teenage boy named Billy Batson who gains the ability to transform into a superhero named Shazam simply by uttering the word "Shazam!" 

The movie is a fun and lighthearted take on the superhero genre, with a lot of humor and heart. Zachary Levi, who plays the adult version of Billy/Shazam, does an excellent job of capturing the enthusiasm and energy of a teenage boy who suddenly has superpowers. The rest of the cast, including Asher Angel as Billy, Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy's best friend Freddy, and Mark Strong as the villainous Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, also deliver strong performances. One of the movie's strengths is its focus on the relationships between the characters. Billy's bond with Freddy is particularly heartwarming, as the two of them navigate their way through Billy's new superhero identity. The movie also explores the theme of family and what it means to be a part of one, as Billy searches for his birth mother and ultimately learns to accept his new foster family.

 Overall, "Shazam!" is a highly enjoyable and entertaining superhero movie with a lot of heart. It's a refreshing departure from the dark and serious tone of many other superhero films, and is definitely worth checking out.

One of the charms of 2019’s Shazam! was its peculiar offhand quality. While it technically was (and is) part of Warner Bros. and DC’s attempts to replicate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its story of a troubled teenager given superhero powers didn’t feel like yet another desperate exercise in world-building; you could watch and enjoy it without ever having seen another comic-book flick. It was funny, fun, and nimble — qualities superhero movies are supposed to have but almost never do these days.

And now comes Shazam! Fury of the Gods to break the spell. In the sequel, again directed by David F. Sandberg, our hero’s hometown of Philadelphia is besieged by the Daughters of Atlas, ancient beings out to avenge their father’s death at the hands of the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou), the ancient warrior and sorcerer who bequeathed his powers to Shazam (Zachary Levi), the superpowered grown-up alter ego of young Billy Batson (Asher Angel), in the first movie. Of course, Shazam doesn’t call himself Shazam yet. A running, albeit botched, gag in the film involves the protagonist’s attempts to come up with a name for his super-self.