Although they're trying to push their DC brand into standalone, more experimental projects such as Joker, Warner Bros. is still trying to resurrect its DC Extended Universe and replicate some of Marvel Studios' success. This has resulted in every single film post-Batman v Superman being a 'course correction' of some sort, with very few actually being successful. Shazam! is the latest product of this seemingly fruitless quest, and it doesn't seem to be the magic word.
If there's one thing that consistently successful about Shazam!, it's the element of discovery in relation to the titular character's powers. In particular, a second-act montage set to Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' is, for me at least, the highlight of the film. It's fun to see a superhero on the big screen that takes joy in realising his potential, rather than seeing it as a curse or a burden.
The heart of the film is undoubtedly Jack Dylan Grazer's Freddy, Billy Batson's disabled foster brother. For the most part, he's the best written, most developed character in the film, and he keeps the movie's themes chugging along. Unfortunately, the third act chooses to do away with his character's potential.
The biggest problem with this film is it's woefully uneven tone. A serious, overlong prologue leads into a fun scene which leads back into a serious scene. There's no real tonal connective tissue between the two sides of the film and it throws you between the different sides of the tonal spectrum with no care for the audience's whiplash. It's inability to decide on a single tone means that its voice feels muddled and off. Its a movie with no real flavour because it's trying to be so many things at once.
The other major problem is that the story just isn't all that interesting. The first act takes way too long to get going. It feels like it takes thirty minutes to establish characters that a more experienced screenwriter could have established in thirty seconds.
The second act shows definite signs of improvement once Zachary Levi comes in. Unfortunately, Billy seems to have a remarkably different personality in his adult persona, leaving me a bit confused as to what his character traits actually are. Thankfully, Levi's bright performance and his chemistry with Grazer makes the film glide over what could've potentially been a very rough patch. However, the film seems to keep walking over the same ground in this part, mainly in relation to Batson's character flaws.
Something I've not yet touched on is Mark Strong's Dr. Sivana, the antagonist of the piece. The reason for this is that there isn't really that much to him. The screenplay tries to establish backstory and motivations for him but they come off as weak and overly simplistic. Even if they were believable they are simply too force-fed to us for the audience to actually care. I tend to like Strong in other things (notably Kingsman) but he's very bland here.
This all leads to a bloated, uninteresting third act. I appreciate that the film has the self-awareness to point out the fact that its climax has about the emotional weight of a kid smashing his action figures together. It also feels completely devoid of stakes and some of the CGI is... questionable. Plus, without spoiling anything, they brought in an element from the Shazam! comic books that just does not translate to film.
It's also a shame that, for a movie that boasts some impressive lead teen performances, it's a shame that the other annoying child actors don't hold up their end. They're not in it all that much but it definitely bothered me.
Several of the jokes were funny at first but went on too long, or, worse, weren't funny to start with. Some of the lines that the screenwriters saddle all the actors and actresses with are awful. This is probably what happens when you give a blockbuster to the guy who's most high-profile credit is Shrek Forever After. I found Shazam! fun rather than funny, and even that was very uneven.
I feel like this was meant to be released at Christmas 2018 and Aquaman was meant to be released now, but it was pushed back because it wasn't really finished. I'm glad they let it simmer a little bit, but the final product definitely needed a couple more months, and the screenplay a few more drafts.
Score: ⭐⭐⭐
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