SHAZAM! Movie Reactions and SPOILER thread!

[SiegePerilous02]

Saw it last night. A great, fun little movie and probably neck and neck with Wonder Woman for being the best DCEU film, with Aquaman third and MOS fourth (the rest trail behind). The kids were great (particularly Billy, Freddy and Darla) as were Levi and Strong, and the Sins were surprisingly effectively scary in several scenes.

As far as Billy's parents are concerned: I'm a recent Shazam convert, so I'm not as attached to the classic depictions of his parents as some. This is perhaps not the route I would have gone, but I feel it was very well done for what it was. I felt some sympathy for Billy's mom, she was a kid herself in way over her head who unintentionally hurt her child in her belief she was doing what was best for him. In light of her current life seemingly not being much better, he is probably better off in the long run. The scene felt very honest.

Some minor complaints:
- Where the f*** was Mary in that last fight scene? She barely did anything. Sequel needs to make up for tht.
- Dr. Sivana's lack of super science and being obsessed with the mystical. I somewhat still think the film would have been better just going straight for Black Adam and saving a more comics accurate Sivana for later. Maybe in his team up with Mr. Mind, he will bring in some of the mad scientist aspects?
- That Superman cameo was great, but it bummed me out it wasn't Cavill

Just been going over the movie in my mind......

Am I right in thinking, in an incredibly subtle way, DC might of (or might not have.) Beat marvel to having the first gay movie superhero?????

I take it you mean when they walked out of the strip club and one of the characters said it wasn't his thing? I mean maybe.

I think his statement was more in response to one of the kids (Freddy?) saying the club had 'great music" and that that wasn't his thing.
It could still be what you guys are thinking though.

[Hypestyle]

Shazam was a solid movie. It was a little more dark than I thought it would be, but not so grisly that it was “BvsS” status. I think part of my reaction is that the story was mostly based on the more recent, “New 52" interpretation of the Shazam/Captain Marvel characters. I got the chance to read the "new 52" reboot TPB a couple of years ago and enjoyed the art and general story, but I still enjoyed Jerry Ordway's 1990s series that I bought most of the issues of as they came out. Folks who are Generation X like me remember Billy and “Cap” and the TV narrative of crisscrossing the countryside in an RV helping out random teenagers. This film has nothing to do with that, lol. The actors are all pretty good, including the child actors. Zach Levi as “Cap” was pretty good overall, and relatively believable as a guy who looks 30 but is really 14 inside.

Mark Strong is a capable actor otherwise but I didn’t get a deeper sense of motivation from Sivana, other than greed driving him to find the power of the wizard and gargoyles. I was surprised to see John Glover in this. The confrontation at Sivana Industries was sort of odd to me, as.. well.. I guess it was an excuse to let the Seven Sins bump off a bunch of people.

"Fawcett Central": So, elementary, middle, and a high school all on one central campus? Oh-kay, then.. lol.

The “surprise” appearances in the climax of the film were a treat, though anyone who read the updated comics could probably have seen it coming.

I predict a sequel sooner rather than later.

[Flash Gordon]

Absolutely ADORED this flick. What a treat.

Freddy/Captain Marvel Jr. steal the whole thing.

[CRaymond]

The ONLY criticism I have of the movie was the bumpy plotting in the third act. I feel like there was no real introduction to the Sins, so the Envy provocation felt random. I also missed where Cap’s realization that the Sins’ empowerment of Sivana was told to Freddy and the kids.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

What were your favorite sequences in the movie?

For me, one of the parts I enjoyed the most was the bus rescue scene. I liked that Billy caused the bus accident and then didn't really know how to save the bus (this was before he started to fly). It was legitimately funny when he pulled out the mattress and motioned the guy to fall on it when the window he was pressing against would crack open.

Another good scene was when Captain Marvel and Sivana are facing off against each other and Sivana is yelling his supervillain threats, but CM couldn't hear him because he was too far away.

The boardroom scene was a standout to me because it allowed me to take Sivana seriously as a threat. It's fine if they want to move away from the Zack Snyder tone, but there should always be a realistic adversary for the hero to defeat.

There was definitely an undercurrent of bad parenting in this movie that shaped both Sivana and Billy. Sandberg didn't pull any punches with it, and it was a sad moment when Billy gives his mother the compass keychain before he leaves, and she doesn't even remember the significance.

[ZuLuLu]

Solid movie, really enjoyed it.

Darla stole every scene she was in, the moment between Shazam Darla and Santa was simply adorable.

[Cyke]

Solid movie, really enjoyed it.

Darla stole every scene she was in, the moment between Shazam Darla and Santa was simply adorable.

Darla really, really makes me want to adopt her and be the father she wishes for. She's just so lovable.

For Mary Marvel, at first I was surprised that they didn't use the same actress for her adult form, since she already is. But almost all the Marvels are physically in their 30s, so I guess the movie wanted more adult forms to match Shazam. And in this age of Hollywood valuing early-twenty somethings more and more, seeing the Marvels a decade past that range was oddly refreshing somehow.



Also, the foster parents were well cast. Unlike Billy's biological mom or even mall-Santa, they're really trying to do their best for their children. I'd love to buy the parents a beer.

[kingaliencracker]

Did anyone notice the subtle jab at Batman v Superman in the third act? The little kid with the action figures?

[CRaymond]

What were your favorite sequences in the movie?

"Say my name!"

"Billy!"

[Cyke]

"Say my name!"

"Billy!"

<3 <3 <3

-----

On a side note, I love that Kid Billy and Adult Billy have opposite personalities, but they feel natural enough to come from the same person. That's some good writing and direction.

[kingaliencracker]

"Say my name!"

"Billy!"

"Lightning~from~my~hands"

[Buried Alien]

Did anyone notice the subtle jab at Batman v Superman in the third act? The little kid with the action figures?

This was a DCEU film that certainly didn't mind poking fun at the DCEU itself. I really enjoyed the drawn credits scene with Shazam trolling the various Justice League members, who are presumably now his teammates/seniors? I figure that along with having lunch, Superman also came down to Philadelphia to extend an invitation to Shazam to join the Justice League.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SiegePerilous02]

This was a DCEU film that certainly didn't mind poking fun at the DCEU itself. I really enjoyed the drawn credits scene with Shazam trolling the various Justice League members, who are presumably now his teammates/seniors? I figure that along with having lunch, Superman also came down to Philadelphia to extend an invitation to Shazam to join the Justice League.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I initially didn't care for the jokes at Superman's expense in the closing credits in light of all the crap WB has done and continues to do with the character...then they lampooned Batman even harder, and I got over it. . It was a cute and very well done set of credits.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

OK, so let's all post our lists of how we grade the DC Extended Universe films:

For me:

A- range:
Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Aquaman

B+ range:
Batman v Superman, Shazam

B range:
Suicide Squad

C+ range:
Justice League

So, where do the DC Films land for you? Feel free to grade/rank on a scale that makes sense to you.

[G. Boney]

Good: Wonder Woman, Shazam

Okay: Man of Steel, Aquaman

Bad: Batman V Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League