Shazam! was a much lighter DC movie than we have been getting.
Shazam! is the story of Billy Batson, a foster child, gaining the power to turn into a super powered adult by saying Shazam. We get the tried and true story arc of the protagonist not being heroic right away, but they grow as the movie goes on.
Shazam! takes more of a New 52 story direction for the character as opposed to his history from Fawcett comics.
Shazam has a lot of beats that are going to jump out at comic fans, but not interfere with anyone’s movie going experience. I mean, we get a Mr. Mind cameo. Mr. Mind. A tiny alien worm with a speaker box around his neck. We do get all the basics. Billy Batson. The wizard, Shazam. Mary. Freddy. Tigers. Dr. Sivana (a lot different than I recall). The Seven Deadly Sins. Etc.
The mid credits scene promises something to come in the next film or the third. The after credits scene is not needed – but was a fun addition.
Starring: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Faithe Herman, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews
Synopsis:
We all have a superhero inside of us — it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In 14-year-old Billy Batson’s case, all he needs to do is shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do — have fun while testing out his newfound powers. But he’ll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana can get his hands on Shazam’s magical abilities.
