Review: 'Shazam' is the relatable, reluctant superhero tale we’ve been waiting for
Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman and Zachary Levi as the title character in “Shazam!” By Pat Padua April 3 at 12:54 PM Rating:
That’s largely thanks to director David F. Sandberg, whose 2017 movie “Annabelle: Creation” put the finely developed characters of “The Conjuring” universe into the service of a series of jump scares. “Shazam!” reverses that process, and shifts from the rapid-fire editing of a typical comic book movie to spend more time developing characters.
Billy resists the affections of his motley new family at first. But after he stands up to bullies who target Freddy at school, Billy magically appears before a wizard who’s looking for a champion to take on his power to fight evil. Billy knows he wouldn’t pass any purity test — but is he the hero the world needs?Asher Angel as Billy Batson in “Shazam!” With the magic word and new name — “Shazam!” — the wizard passes his power onto Billy, who’s transformed into a buff adult .
Set primarily in Philadelphia, “Shazam!” echoes, and directly references, another underdog who inspired the city: Rocky Balboa. The screenplay by Henry Gayden essentially condenses a few “Rocky” sequels into one package: As the determined boxer evolved from working-class chump to overconfident star over the course of three movies, Shazam develops from vulnerable teen to cocky social media star to selfless family man in a little more than two hours.
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