Shazam! (2019)

Finally, the REAL Captain Marvel made his modern day debut on the big screen.

Asher Angel portrays orphan teen Billy Batson. While fleeing from some bullies, Batson seeks refuge in a subway car that transports the lad to the Rock of Eternity. There, Billy meets an ancient wizard who imbues the teen with 6 wondrous powers

whenever Billy exclaims 'Shazam!’

With a bolt of lightning, Billy Batson turns into Captain Marvel, played by Zachary Levy

(Chuck). (Due to some clever wordplay, the hero is never called by this name so to not

be hit with a lawsuit by Marvel Comics. But he is listed as C.M. in the credits.) For about

an hour, Shazam is a superhero twist on the Tom Hanks classic, Big.The Big Red Cheese explores his powers with fellow foster kid, Freddy Freeman (It'sJack Dylan Glazer) in hilarious fashion. But this all changes around the Midway point of this just over 2 hour long film.

The change in the film's tone from comedy to mystical thriller occurs when Dr. Silvana makes his presence known to Batson and Freddy. Sherlock Holmes'Mark Strong portrays the normally simpering mad scientist as a total heel. Evil through and through with powers to boot, I think Warner Bros. added some aspects to Dr. Silvana normally seen in fellow Captain Marvel baddie, Black Adam.

After seeing Shazam!, I think it's clear that the Black Adamfilm can be done and done well. But instead of trying to get Henry Cavill to appear in the film as Superman, make Levy's character be the film's protagonist. WB and DC has proven that their Captain Marvel can lead the DC Universe as well as be more socially appetizing for movie goers.

Critics hailed the House of Ideas’ Captain Marvelstarring Brie Larson, as the diversity driven superhero film of 2019. But in reality that honor needs to go to Shazam!People of color, women, the disabled and most importantly, the microcosm that is the foster child program are championed in this film. I strongly made the diversity connection in this film without having to be preached at by the cast of Marvel's Agents

of SHIELD

I really want to get back to the foster family aspect for a moment. Family is the key theme in Shazam!and the roles of Billy Batson and Dr. Silvana show some interesting contrasts. Silvana comes from a upbringing with a father and brother. Yet, he couldn’t be more distant from his

relatives in he was on Mars and they on Earth. Batson, while an orphan, is brought

into a loving foster home complete with 5 foster siblings willing to accept and love him right off the bat.

It’s not often you get to see social services or foster families in a positive light. My wife and I are avid watchers of NBC’s Chicago trilogy of shows and it seems that creator Dick Wolf reallyhas some sort of beef against social workers. If you work in social services or as a foster parent, you really need to get a group of fellow colleagues together and watch this movie. It

will make you feel good about the thankless service you give to your community!

Man, I only seem to be giving this film praise. That’s not to say that I didn’t have some problems with the film. The biggest issue I had was the release date. The film takes places

right around Christmas. Finally, superhero fans have a holiday movie! So why didn’t DC and

Warner Brothers release this in November or December? Were there production delays? Shazam! did around $55 million in the US on opening weekend. But had they released this at Christmas time, I guarantee it would have broke $70!

The other thing I did not like about this movie is something I have had problems with ever since Man of Steel. What is up with the super-slomo action scenes??? Justice Leagueand Wonder Womanwere riddled with these snail’s pace fight scenes. I really had thought Shazam! had risen above that but somebody decided during the film’s climax to slow the pace down by 40%.

And it annoyed the hell outta me!

I was all set to give Shazam!a solid 9 until the very last scene before the credits. I will not give away the spoiler. But it completely redeemed the movie. Let’s just say it was sup-, uh-Marvelous!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.