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Introduction to Shazam! Movie Review by Ms. H
Warning: I will reveal a few spoilers in the Shazam! movie so if you have not seen it yet and plan to do so -- I recommend you watch the movie before you check out my review. That being said, here my movie review of Shazam!
Plot of the Shazam! Movie
The plot of Shazam! centered around a villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana trying to gain the powers of Shazam! To do this, many battles ensued between them. Spoiler alert: Apparently there is a special staff that turns people into superheroes if they just touch it. When certain people touched the staff towards the end of the movie -- just like magic -- a superhero team was started. In my opinion, the actions that took place after their transformation made the movie Shazam! somewhat enjoyable to watch.
Pace of the Shazam! Movie
The Shazam! movie does not start with a lot of explosions, chases, etc. Instead, the movie begins slow -- almost at a crawl. I suggest that you exercise patience as you watch the movie as it builds up beginning with the origins of not only Shazam!, the superhero, but the villain as well.
Humor in the Shazam! Movie
If you watch the Shazam! movie, you may find yourself laughing sometimes out loud during some parts. Looks like this character is trying to follow in the footsteps of Deadpool -- but does not quite make the cut.
Personally, I found the humor more slapstick and goofy instead of funny. Maybe it was because the actor who played Shazam! did not seem naturally comedic as Ryan Reynolds was in the movie Deadpool. In fact, I think Shazam! has a long ways to go to catch up with the humor in Deadpool. On a positive note -- I thought it was humorous that the superhero was called by a various superhero-type names throughout the movie.
Standout Actor in the Shazam! Movie
You may think I will choose Zachary Levi who played the lead character in the movie as the standout actor. However, to the contrary, in my opinion, the actor who made an impression with me played the supporting actor’s role of mentoring the superhero. His name is Jack Dylan Grazer who played the part of Frederick “Freddy” Freeman. I think he displayed his acting skills in a believable way and presented himself as being a genuine character instead of a forced one.
Computer Generated Image (CGI) Graphics in the Shazam! Movie
Spoiler Alert: For the most part, the graphics department did an adequate job of depicting especially the monsters including a surprise one that appears at the end of the movie. However, when the monsters appeared or disappeared in a haze of smoke. I was reminded of The Mummy movie starring Tom Cruise when his arch enemy appeared during one of the scenes in a thick cloud of smoke.
Assessment of Shazam! Movie
Did the movie Shazam! deliver considering all the hype that preceded it? My answer would be...it depends. If you like to watch long exhaustive background stories before the action starts, you may be satisfied with this movie. For myself -- unless the movie is a drama instead of a superhero movie, I expect action to occur during the beginning of the movie and last throughout. To be fair, the lead character did perform a lot of running, jumping and bumping into things -- but this was more slapstick comedy instead of action.
Spoiler alert: As I mentioned previously, to me the Shazam! movie did not become somewhat enjoyable until the team was formed. The first part of the movie was predictable and was more of filler material. Spoiler alert: A highlight I think that is notable is the appearance of another superhero at the very end of the movie -- which I thought was creative on the part of the writer.
Rating of Shazam! Movie
Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I give the Shazam! movie 2 ½ stars.