Shazam! (2019) - Review Megathread

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%, with averages 7.88 out of 10 and 40 Reviews CountedCritics Consensus: An effortlessly entertaining blend of humor and heart, Shazam! is a superhero movie that never forgets the genre's real power: joyous wish fulfillment.Metacritic: 79 out of 100 with 17 Reviews CountedDescription:We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).Trailers:SHAZAM! - Official Teaser TrailerSHAZAM! - Official TrailerRelease Date:April 5, 2019 (North America)Starring:Zachary LeviMark StrongAsher AngelJack Dylan GrazerDjimon HonsouFaithe HermanGrace FultonIan ChenJovan ArmandMarta MilansRon Cephas JonesDirector:David F. Sandberg (Lights Out)Writer:Henry Grayden (Earth to Echo)Running Time:130 MinutesWritten ReviewsOne of the delights of DC Comics over the years is that the unlikeliest characters can bump up against each other; you can stick Batman on the same page with The Phantom Stranger, Amethyst of Gemworld, the Doom Patrol and Rip Hunter, Time Master, and somehow they all fit. As the company’s films move in the same direction, it will be interesting to see how well “Shazam!” will play with his super-peers.Alonso Durade - The WrapThe hardest power to depict onscreen is the wisdom of Solomon, but Shazam! makes clever decisions, mixing middle school snark with disarming sweetness. And — yes — it delivers the requisite lightning-strike punch-’em-ups with considerable force.Kim Newman - Empire MagazineThis movie proves so determinedly ebullient you begin to think they're pumping laughing gas into the auditorium. The most kid-friendly DC movie so far, the film is thoroughly entertaining.Frank Scheck - The Hollywood ReporterWarm, witty, and bursting at the seams with great characters, “Shazam!” is easily one of the most fun superhero movies ever made; even after the euphoric “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” that’s still a low bar to clear, but it’s worth celebrating all the same.David Elrich - IndiewireThis might just be the most fun audiences have at the movies this year, and it’s proof that DC has another major winner on its hands. Shazam! is, quite simply, lightning in a bottle.Brandon Davis - Comicbook.com“Shazam!,” is just a light, funny, grounded, engagingly unpretentious sleight-of-hand action comedy about a boy in a (super)man’s body. The movie, in other words, is “Big” in tights.Owen Gleiberman - VarietyShazam!, of all things – a 1940s Superman clone that, now, can’t even use his own name – sits atop the recent DC movie heap alongside Wonder Woman. But, hey, as it turns out, Shazam! is a “fun time at the movies.” Who would have guessed?Mike Ryan - UproxxShazam! is basically two movies in one. One with Levi and his wiseass foster brother (a fresh Jack Dylan Grazer), the other with Strong and all his snarling, computer-generated gobbledygook. And they both have the other in a headlock, wrestling for the soul of the story. I loved one, yawned through the other.Chris Nashwaty - Entertainment WeeklySupes and Bats will never die, but in Shazam, a character who’s been around for seven decades and is only now breaking through into the mainstream, youngsters have a new family-friendly hero to call their own.Brian Truitt - USA TodayIt’s Shazam’s fidelity to childhood joy, tenderness in exploring feelings about family and parenthood, and loyalty to its seemingly silly source material that make it soar. Slightly surprising is that this winsome flick comes from director David F. Sandberg, who’s more well-known for menacing horror flicks, like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, that make you afraid to check under your bed.Alex Abad-Santos - VoxThis film is a love letter to fans of Shazam – from the story, to the costumes, to some of the easter eggs. If you’re a fan of the character, you will have a smile on your face the whole time and if you’re not familiar with the character, I can guarantee you will have just as big of a smile while watching it. It is an amazing family movie with incredible fight scenes, and great humor. You guys are going to love it! Shazam! is a game-charger for the DCEU and comic book movies in general.Dorian Parks - Geeks of ColorSandberg’s vision is wonderfully executed without any pretension. One of the best in the DCEU canon, SHAZAM! is a triumph. Superb, sweet and smart, this is a feel-good superhero movie you’ll want to see over and over again.Courtney Howard - FreshFiction.tv“Shazam!” is actually good. OK, so it’s basically “Big” with superheroes and villains instead of businesspeople and girlfriends, but director David F. Sandberg has infused his film with so much heart and charm that it hardly matters. Even the deficiencies, like the sluggish beginning and the random, ridiculous villains, fade away under a haze of goodwill because unlike so many big spectacle action pics with sequels in mind, “Shazam!” actually sticks the landinLindsey Bahr - Asscociated PressShazam! is a lot of fun and it further proves how, in the wake of the success of Wonder Woman and Aquaman, DC’s movie future is indeed bright. Zachary Levi was born to play this superpowered man-child, delivering lots of laughs alongside sarcastic but amiable co-star Jack Dylan Grazer. After an awkward and obligatory opening, the latter three quarters pack some big surprises for comics buffs and offer enough mainstream appeal to win over new fans. While Dr. Sivana ties in nicely with the themes of how adults can influence children, this villain is ultimately little more than a means to an end for the story of a boy who must learn what it takes to be a (super)man.Jim Vejoda - IGNShazam of the most irresistibly likeable superhero films in ages. About as funny and charming as superhero movies get. Expect it to make household names out of its title character and leading man.Matt Maytum - Total FilmYes, Shazam! is the holy grail of superhero adaptations when it pulls off an engagingly staged, thrilling, and emotional climax. But even more than that, the movie does right by my good son, Billy Batson, the big brother that every superhero-loving kid needs.Susanna Polo - PolygonLook, I’m not saying that DC movies should be more like Marvel ones. There is room for everything, and I’m not someone who has any superhero movie fatigue, so take that into consideration. I’m just saying that the change in tone is welcome, and in the case of Shazam!, it’s the perfect amount of silliness and heart.Jenna Busch - Vital ThrillsIt's unexpectedly rocky emotional terrain for an otherwise sunny film about the sheer fun of getting real big and punching out bad guys in front of adoring crowds, but Shazam! navigates it confidently, letting organic character development take the lead and striking a balance between humor and heart. And in the end, it fits, because that's another thing Shazam! gets right about kid stuff: It knows that being a child can be really freaking complicated sometimes.Angie Han - MashableBut while the story of an extremely overpowered champion rising to challenge a one-dimensionally sinister baddie might seem like the epitome of simplicity, Shazam! is still a modern-day tentpole blockbuster, overburdened with backstories for both hero and villain and subtexts that it can’t (or won’t) fully articulate—occasional gunk in the gears of what might otherwise be a fast-moving machine.Ignatiy Vishnevetsky - The A.V ClubShazam is undoubtedly another win for DC. It never quite reaches the bombastic heights of Aquaman or sheer gravitas of Wonder Woman but it’s got heart enough for all three, a good balance of humor and action, and near infinite potential for the future. I have no idea how this innocent, lovable boy ends up fitting into a larger DC universe but it’s going to be really exciting to find out. He’s a star.Germain Lussier - io9Captain Marvel (or Shazam, or Thundercrack, or whatever you call him) might be one of the simplest superheroes ever created, but Shazam! both gets what makes that simplicity so appealing, and understands the complications stirred by the common wish to grow up too fast and assume powers you don’t know how to control.Keith Phillips - The VergeWith the glut of superhero movies taking over the movie landscape these days, it’s easy to forget about the reason that we fell in love with the genre in the first place. The formula has become too rigid, the fight scenes too unexciting, or the twists too predictable. But magic and the ability of superheroes to make us drop our jaws in awe still exists. It turns out that it takes a kid turning into a superpowered Zachary Levi to remind us of that.Hoai-Tran Bui - SlashfilmVideo ReviewsRoth Cornet & Dan Murrell - ScreenJunkies NewsPerri Nemiroff and Coy Jandreau - Collider VideosGrace Randolph - Beyond the TrailerMark Ellis and Kristian Harloff - SchmoedownJohn Campea via /r/movies https://ift.tt/2HBHPiy