😀😀😀😀😀⚪️
Combine the Strength of Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, mix it with the 1988 movie Big, bring it into 2019 and then add a bit of DC on top and you have Shazam! the latest teen hit in the box office.
Shazam! is a story about Billy (Asher Angel), a 15 year old boy, lost in the world of foster care while searching for his mother. He is suddenly transported by subway to a cave-like layer where he is turned into the adult superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi). With the help of of his superhero obsessed foster brother, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), and a lot of trial and error, Captain Sparkle Fingers gradually discovers the extent of his superpowers.
Of course, no superhero movie would be possible without a villain. Thad (Ethan Pugiotto), a troubled boy who is excessively criticized by his dad and dismissed by his brother, turns super villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) while internally harboring the seven deadly sins.
This movie unexpectedly succeeds in combining a slapstick adolescent daydream with an evil dark villainous world. The juxtaposition actually works in this belly laughing cinematic experience.
A few important things to note:
- Shazam! is a Christmas movie… well, it takes place during the holiday season so be prepared to hear “Do You Hear What I Hear” and see Christmas trees, and wreaths as well as a shocked and extremely shaken Santa Clause. Clearly they missed their production deadline. Despite the fact that Easter will be here in 16 days, it did not take away from the entertainment value. Honestly, I will probably add Shazam! into my Christmas gift wrapping movie rotation in December.
- This movie is appropriately rated PG-13 for violence, language and frightening and intense scenes. My 8 year old, had his head buried in my arm through the majority of the battle scenes and asked to leave towards the end. On the flip side, he was laughing uproariously through every other scene of the movie. Battle scenes aside, he loved it and was giggling while retelling the synopsis on our drive home.
- Don’t judge this movie by it’s preview. The preview did not do Shazam! any favors for anyone other than the teenage boys it is marketed to. I went into the theater (based on preview alone) fully expecting to hate Shazam! Instead, I laughed out loud and was thoroughly entertained along with the rest of the theater.
If you want a belly laugh and your kids are old enough to handle intense scenes then definitely take a trip to the theater to see this Shazam!
Did you see Shazam!? Do you think it is a Christmas movie? Share your opinions in the comments below.
Want to know why I rate movies on a 6 Smiley scale? Check out this blog post.