Shazam Shazam User Review Thread (Tag Spoilers)

[Asr]

I know what people mean when they say that Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy) have more similar personalities. It's that stuttery, nervous funny energy. Someone even mentioned that when the trailers came out. But they were both great as an duo and Asher Angel is a strong lead. But Jack Dylan Grazer is such a great actor. I really look forward to more Freddy Freeman.

I know the movie already came out and all, and Levi was great as Shazam no doubt, but Asher Angel actually reminded me of a young Zac Efron when I first saw him. Not that I actually like Zac Efron as an actor, but their similarities in looks has me wondering if Efron might have been able to pull off Shazam.

 

[dennis_3107]

They say the truth hurts. Im not calling anyone a moron. Time will tell that this movie is flat. It's my honest opinion of it. I'm not trolling. I was really looking forward to it. Wonder Woman is a much better movie in my opinion. I didn't like aquaman . Like watching a cartoon .

Your truth!!! Capital Y, capital T.

 

[LoganPool]

I'm not a fan of the DCEU. Before Shazam, their best movie was Wonder Woman, and even that wasn't great. Aquaman was one of the most boring movies I've seen in a long time. All that being said, Shazam was FANTASTIC! I loved every minute of it! By far the best that the DCEU has put out, and even better than a lot of MCU movies. 9/10.

 

[Mysteryman]

It was just what I always thought a Shazam movie should be. Loved it! There's a Richard Donner-Superman The Movie charm to it crossed with 80's family films like Gremlins, The Monster Squad, Ghostbusters, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Levi is so spot on on the role. I do wish there could have been a little better balance between his characterization and Angel's Billy, but it's a minor complaint. Mark Strong is delightfully wicked. Can't wait for more!

It felt like a Donner movie to me, too.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Just got back and I was very pleasantly surprised, I liked it! I especially enjoyed Zachary Levi as Shazam (or Captain Sparklefingers ) and the kid that played Billy's foster brother/best friend (who also played Eddie in IT), they were both great and very funny playing off each other. In a way, I feel that Shazam is the antithesis to Aquaman, the former is little spectacle but all heart and personality, whereas the latter was all spectacle and no real heart or personality. I definitely know which I preferred. When Aquaman first came out I rated it 7/10, but on hindsight that later got knocked down to 5/10 because of the complete lack of interesting, likable characters. I now rate Shazam a strong 7/10 and have a feeling it will stay at that rating upon second viewing because I overall enjoyed it much more.

Totally agree with this. Aquaman was all style and no substance. None of the performances really stood out in it; even Momoa doesn't really elevate his game much. The only reason he stands out is because he's just in it the most. Everyone in the movie is serviceable and the plot works well enough but the Honest Trailer really hit the nail on the head... it just felt like Wan and DC threw everything they could think of into the movie. Shazam, in contrast, is a much smaller scale film and because of that, it feels so much more personal and multiple actors really shine. Zachary Levi and Asher Angel are so memorable as Billy, and Jack Dylan Grazer is such a fun sidekick. Even Mark Strong, whose villain character is fairly generic, is able to elevate the material enough to be far more memorable than Patrick Wilson's boring Orm or Yahya Abdul-Mateen's "GRRRR LOOK AT HOW ANGRY I ALWAYS AM!" Black Manta.

 

[Sundancer]

I know the movie already came out and all, and Levi was great as Shazam no doubt, but Asher Angel actually reminded me of a young Zac Efron when I first saw him. Not that I actually like Zac Efron as an actor, but their similarities in looks has me wondering if Efron might have been able to pull off Shazam.

He reminded me of Maisie Williams

 

[Luigi]

Left the movie theater with a big ol' stupid grin on my face. Man, I really enjoyed this film. Those two hours flew by quickly and loved how it felt like a David F. Sandberg film first and foremost. It was fun to see him incorporate his horror sensibilities into this film. Zachary and Jack had fantastic chemistry and carried this film. In general, all of the kids were a joy to watch. Easily the best film of the DCEU.

9/10

Best use of Don't Stop Me Now since Shaun of the Dead.

 

[Batmannerism]

Totally agree with this. Aquaman was all style and no substance. None of the performances really stood out in it; even Momoa doesn't really elevate his game much. The only reason he stands out is because he's just in it the most. Everyone in the movie is serviceable and the plot works well enough but the Honest Trailer really hit the nail on the head... it just felt like Wan and DC threw everything they could think of into the movie. Shazam, in contrast, is a much smaller scale film and because of that, it feels so much more personal and multiple actors really shine. Zachary Levi and Asher Angel are so memorable as Billy, and Jack Dylan Grazer is such a fun sidekick. Even Mark Strong, whose villain character is fairly generic, is able to elevate the material enough to be far more memorable than Patrick Wilson's boring Orm or Yahya Abdul-Mateen's "GRRRR LOOK AT HOW ANGRY I ALWAYS AM!" Black Manta.

Well that pretty much sums it up. Aquaman is big dumb loud but forgettable fun and Shazam is a feast of laughter that doesn't get old because the chemistry is so good - Grazer steals the show time and time again but Levi sells adult super Billy perfectly. Mark Strong did a great job with very little to work with, and Darla is such a hoot.

Shazam shows us that when cliches ( his real family were right there all along) are well executed they can be quite entertaining.

Imagine an Aquaman / Shazam team up movie...that would be hilarious.

I gave Shazam a 9/10 and would go see it again anytime.

 

[hawkflame]

They say the truth hurts. Im not calling anyone a moron. Time will tell that this movie is flat. It's my honest opinion of it. I'm not trolling. I was really looking forward to it. Wonder Woman is a much better movie in my opinion. I didn't like aquaman . Like watching a cartoon .

Yep. You’re the prescient genius, everyone else in this thread, and the large majority of movie critics and audiences are all wrong. It would have been fine if you just said that you personally didn’t like it, but then you had to pass judgment on other people’s opinions by saying that we are “easily pleased” and “don’t know what a great movie is (as if you are the ultimate arbiter on that subject).

 

[Deck Rickard]

Well that pretty much sums it up. Aquaman is big dumb loud but forgettable fun and Shazam is a feast of laughter that doesn't get old because the chemistry is so good - Grazer steals the show time and time again but Levi sells adult super Billy perfectly. Mark Strong did a great job with very little to work with, and Darla is such a hoot.

Shazam shows us that when cliches ( his real family were right there all along) are well executed they can be quite entertaining.

Imagine an Aquaman / Shazam team up movie...that would be hilarious.

I gave Shazam a 9/10 and would go see it again anytime.

Yeah, I feel like Shazam is a film that stays with you longer. The special effects and action set pieces in Aquaman were amazing but a few days later, I wasn't thinking about the movie anymore. But with Shazam, I'm eagerly anticipating the next film and what they might do when they bring the Rock's Black Adam and possibly Superman into the fold. Regarding the latter, if Henry Cavill is indeed done with the role, then WB should seriously get on with recasting and have him debut in a small but memorable supporting role in Shazam 2.

And yeah, superhero movies are full of cliches, but that's part of what makes them work. There are things we expect to see, that we often need to see. It's the execution that matters. And Sandberg nailed it with Shazam.

 

[Aurakles]

I hated it.
It was everything I feared it would be.

Spoiler

Captain Marvel was without his most important power, wisdom. He was stripped of his dignity, reduced to acting like a fool to garner cheap laughs.
I have no problem with there being comedy in a Captain Marvel film, but I do have a problem with it coming primarily from him acting like an idiot.
I want him to act like the Captain Marvel from the original comics, in Jeff Smiths Monster Society of Evil, in Morrison and Stewart's Thunderworld or Parker and Shaners Convergence.
Usually Billy Batson acts with more maturity than this films Captain Marvel. Supernatural wisdom was never part of the equation in this movie.
The character I love simply didn't feature in this film, so in a way, I'm glad they never used his name.

The films version of Dr Sivana was also very disheartening. Instead of a short wrinkled old scientists, forever inventing new and terrible weapons, we got a tall statuesque figure who's doctorate appears to be purely honorary and was obsessed with magic.
He spent decades trying to find a way to the Rock of Eternity and still needed someone to show him in a video before he could work it out. He was not a scientist, who believed his genius could find a way to triumph over magic. Hearing Dr Sivana say "only magic and defeat magic" was completely surreal. Sivana not being a scientist is like Zod not being a Kryptonian.
Now I understand the desire to have a magic based villain, which is why they should have used one of Captain Marvels magical enemies. Ibac or Sabbac would have been perfect, they are essentially the character Strong was playing. Just don't call that character Sivanna, because they are nothing alike.

I don't understand how the Seven Deadly Sins could be released, if they'd been trapped, how were people able to commit them? If your going to make them the villains of a story, it would be better to have them manipulating people, like ghosts whispering in humanities ear, turning friends into foes. Perhaps the Seven Virtues would be needed to overcome them. Instead this just has them as generic monsters smashing things.

A lack of imagination is one of this films major shortcomings.It was all so generic, all so predictable, all so uninspired. Add that to a huge amount of comedy that didn't mesh with my sense of humour...

I'm aware I'm in a tiny minority, that most folk enjoyed it, but I'd rank this as the worst DCEU film.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[-Arya-]

I hated it.
It was everything I feared it would be.

Spoiler

Captain Marvel was without his most important power, wisdom. He was stripped of his dignity, reduced to acting like a fool to garner cheap laughs.
I have no problem with there being comedy in a Captain Marvel film, but I do have a problem with it coming primarily from him acting like an idiot.
I want him to act like the Captain Marvel from the original comics, in Jeff Smiths Monster Society of Evil, in Morrison and Stewart's Thunderworld or Parker and Shaners Convergence.
Usually Billy Batson acts with more maturity than this films Captain Marvel. Supernatural wisdom was never part of the equation in this movie.
The character I love simply didn't feature in this film, so in a way, I'm glad they never used his name.

The films version of Dr Sivana was also very disheartening. Instead of a short wrinkled old scientists, forever inventing new and terrible weapons, we got a tall statuesque figure who's doctorate appears to be purely honorary and was obsessed with magic.
He spent decades trying to find a way to the Rock of Eternity and still needed someone to show him in a video before he could work it out. He was not a scientist, who believed his genius could find a way to triumph over magic. Hearing Dr Sivana say "only magic and defeat magic" was completely surreal. Sivana not being a scientist is like Zod not being a Kryptonian.
Now I understand the desire to have a magic based villain, which is why they should have used one of Captain Marvels magical enemies. Ibac or Sabbac would have been perfect, they are essentially the character Strong was playing. Just don't call that character Sivanna, because they are nothing alike.

I don't understand how the Seven Deadly Sins could be released, if they'd been trapped, how were people able to commit them? If your going to make them the villains of a story, it would be better to have them manipulating people, like ghosts whispering in humanities ear, turning friends into foes. Perhaps the Seven Virtues would be needed to overcome them. Instead this just has them as generic monsters smashing things.

A lack of imagination is one of this films major shortcomings.It was all so generic, all so predictable, all so uninspired. Add that to a huge amount of comedy that didn't mesh with my sense of humour...

I'm aware I'm in a tiny minority, that most folk enjoyed it, but I'd rank this as the worst DCEU film.

Maybe you should stick to rewatching Snyder’s movies?

 

[The Shape]

Maybe you should stick to rewatching Snyder’s movies?

Nothing he said has anything to do with Snyder's films. He's clearly a fan of the more classic depictions of Captain Marvel over New52 "Shazam", and was disappointed in the depiction of the character and his world in this film.

You don't need to be a jerk to one of the only people that is seemingly very unhappy with the film.

 

[-Arya-]

Nothing he said has anything to do with Snyder's films. He's clearly a fan of the more classic depictions of Captain Marvel over New52 "Shazam", and was disappointed in the depiction of the character and his world in this film.

You don't need to be a jerk to one of the only people that is seemingly very unhappy with the film.

It’s the same song and dance with him during every DCEU release. First Aquaman was the worst DCEU movie, now it’s Shazam all of a sudden. You know what, it’s fine. He can dislike the movie. His opinion is his opinion.

 

[hawkflame]

Nothing he said has anything to do with Snyder's films. He's clearly a fan of the more classic depictions of Captain Marvel over New52 "Shazam", and was disappointed in the depiction of the character and his world in this film.

You don't need to be a jerk to one of the only people that is seemingly very unhappy with the film.

Yeah, I disagree with him as much as humanly possible, but he wasn’t being disrespectful or arrogant, he was just calmly stating his perspective. His perspective is the polar opposite of mine, but that’s fine.

 

[Aurakles]

It’s the same song and dance with him during every DCEU release. First Aquaman was the worst DCEU movie, now it’s Shazam all of a sudden. You know what, it’s fine. He can dislike the movie. His opinion is his opinion.

Come on, it's two films, "every" seems a bit much.
I've had worries about Shazam for a long time, ever since Sandberg said "big with superpowers".
I deliberately stopped visiting the Shazam boards a while ago because I felt I was just complaining.
I'm not trolling or calling for boycotts, I just didn't like the film and posted a review in the review thread.

You like some films I don't, I like some films you don't. And there'll be some that we agree on.

 

[The Infernal]

I really enjoyed the film. It out a massive grin on my face. The cast were great. Thought the wind were a bit underutilised, but Strong pulled his weight so it didn't bother me so much. The third act action set piece felt like a good change from the run of the mill save the people trope.

 

[samsnee]

To be fair, I loved the movie but definitely had issues with the lack of “wisdom” displayed.

 

[SomeOldGuy]

Random thought: if you are looking for more, um, traditional takes on bald mad scientist characters, then Mark Strong and Jesse Eisenberg ought to have had each others’ roles...

 

[Deck Rickard]

Eh, Jesse Eisenberg would have sucked as Sivana too.

 

[BlackFox]

Going in not knowing much about the character at all I wasnt expecting much from this but was pleasantly surprised, it was a fairly good romp that didnt take itself too seriously at all or reinvent the genre in any way, the story was nothing amazing but it had a heart and warmth at the center which gave everything its meaning, kind of like a Deadpool film thats not R rated if I tad more silly but I assume thats in keeping with the character.

I had some issues with some plot points, mainly revolving around the relationship with the mother and some jokes were a little eye rolling but nothing that broke the film, enjoyed it more than Aquaman and maybe even WW although that had a much stronger first act. Overall a fun time. 7.5/10

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Saw it tonight with my folks, we all really enjoyed it, some really moments, but with some really heartfelt ones too. Casting was awesome, Levi steals the show but Strong as Sivanna was no slouch, while he wasn’t the best CBM villain ever, he had a good motivation and that boardroom scene is one of the best villain moments in a none Avengers CBM over the last few years.

Levi and the kids bring the fun and heart though and they nail it, Freddy and Billy have a really good dynamic, whether Billy is in adult mode or not. And it was awesome to see Jerry from TWD here as the foster dad, he just has a very likeable screen presence. Loved the sins as well their designs were awesome and the CGI on them was excellently considering the budget. While I know of Shazam and Black Adam, I am certainly no big fan of the character, so learning more about the mythology behind it was enjoyable. The cameo at the end was great also.

I only have a few nitpicks and they were some of the CGI in the flying scenes, I didn’t find the score memorable and I thought the action was uninspired. There was no ‘wow’ moment in the movie but maybe the budget had a hand in that also.

8.5/10 overall, a really enjoyable movie which already has me on board for a sequel.

 

[Mysteryman]

Maybe it"s just me, but, I liked the score.

 

[Micromind]

Maybe it"s just me, but, I liked the score.

Many tracks are incredible. Listen the soundtrack here -