成人X站

SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

‘Shazam!’ is a superhero movie made mostly for kids

Apr 5, 2019, 7:20 AM | Updated: 9:24 am

Shazam!...

(Warner Bros.)

(Warner Bros.)

“Shazam!” is a superhero movie strictly for kids. Not little kids, mind you. But middle-schoolers, for sure.

搁贰尝础罢贰顿:听鈥楥aptain Marvel鈥 isn鈥檛 鈥業nfinity War鈥 but is still plenty of fun
搁贰尝础罢贰顿:听鈥楪lass鈥 takes itself far too seriously to take seriously

For anyone else, or at least anyone who’s seen any random half-dozen superhero movies, there’s not much here for you. You’ve seen most all of it before and, unfortunately, done much, much better.

The movie has an old wizard hanging out in a cheap-looking cave, some standard-issue gargoyle monsters, and a mostly unremarkable villain who’s villainy is evidenced by his baldness and blue right eye (oooh, scary).

There’s also a sympathetic hero, a 14-year-old runaway foster kid who turns into an adult superhero quite unexpectedly.

And of course the movie has a message: Just as our hero Billy/Shazam has to learn how to use his powers for good, he also has to learn about the value of family, which he conveniently and predictably does.

To its credit, “Shazam!” does not take itself seriously. Its overall tone is comic, and one gets the sense that it realizes it’s just rehashing comic book tropes. After all, Billy’s sidekick Freddy is a comic book nerd who can recite chapter and verse of every superhero.

But that doesn’t make the movie any more compelling. And its sense of humor is not exactly high wit, seen the first time he finds himself in full superhero costume.

“What are your superpowers?” Freddy asks.

“Superpowers? Dude, I don’t even know how to pee in this thing!” Billy answers.

And when Billy and Freddy try out good superhero names, they experiment with “Thunder Crack,” (“No, sounds like a butt joke) and “Mr. Philadelphia” (“No, sounds like a cream cheese”). Freddy finally announces:

“His name is Captain Sparklefingers!”

That’s funny to a young teen, I suppose.

To be fair, there is a decent joke involving Shazam buying something a 14-year-old could never get away with.

“I’d like to purchase some of your finest beer, please,” he says to a confused mini-mart clerk.

Then, when he and Freddy try the beer, they can’t spit it out fast enough.

Funny. But only one in every 20 jokes or so lands.

Broadway and TV star Zachary Levi plays Shazam, the adult hero version of 14-year-old Billy, in an unconvincing, exaggerated way.

Too often he’s performing an adult’s idea of being a kid rather than playing a kid who’s being an adult. He more or less mugs his way through the entire movie. He and the movie could afford to dial it down a notch or three.

But the real problem with Levi’s performance is that he doesn’t match the personality of the kid he’s supposedly the grown-up version of. Billy is a rather wary, introspective loner but as Shazam, he’s more like a back-slapping extrovert. I’m sure superpowers change a man, but this feels like a complete disconnect. He doesn’t even look like him.

In its grappling with what it’s like to be a kid in a grown-up body, “Shazam!” reminds one of Tom Hanks in “Big.” In its look at a teenager suddenly granted superpowers, it treads ground similar to “Spiderman: Homecoming.”

And of course, its “breaking the fourth wall” and making all sorts of self-reflective cracks at its own superhero genre, it’s reminiscent of the Deadpool films. That’s a great lineup of source materials, but “Shazam!” doesn’t come close to matching any of them.

If you haven’t seen any of those films, and have not been schooled by the best comic book superhero movies ever, “Shazam!” just might work. Especially if you’re 12.

Associated Press

Minnesota shooting suspect had dozens of potential targets, prosecutors say

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 The man charged with killing one Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another in what prosecutors have described as a meticulously planned attack, had dozens of apparent targets, including officials in at least three other states. Vance Boelter allegedly made it to the homes of two other legislators on the night of the attacks, […]

1 hour ago

Brian Armstrong, left, Co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, and Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and...

Associated Press

Senate expected to pass crypto bill without addressing Trump’s investments

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The Senate is expected to approve legislation Tuesday that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what is expected to be a wave of crypto legislation from Congress that the industry hopes will bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers. The fast-moving legislation, which will be sent to […]

2 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he attends a family photo session during the G7 Summit, in ...

Associated Press

Trump is at a moment of choosing as Israel looks for more US help crushing Iran’s nuclear program

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump in about eight hours Monday went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained 鈥渁chievable鈥 to urging Tehran鈥檚 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. He […]

2 hours ago

Police tape blocks off the home of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in ...

Associated Press

40 hours of violence and fear as gunman stalks Minnesota politicians

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 Violence and fear swept through towns in an arc around Minneapolis for more than 40 hours over the weekend as a man seemingly intent on sowing political devastation killed one Minnesota state lawmaker and left another bleeding from nine bullet wounds. The attacks sparked the largest manhunt in Minnesota history, with heavily […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Shannon Taylor, attorney for Henrico County Commonwealth, exits the Albemarle County Circuit...

Associated Press

Virginia Democrats set to pick nominees in closely watched 2025 primaries

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) 鈥 Virginia Democrats are set on Tuesday to pick their nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general, rounding out the statewide ticket and setting the stage for a bellwether election later this year. Most of the nominees slated to be at the top of the November ticket have already been picked, and […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks to reporters outside federal court in New York, Jan...

Associated Press

Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez set to report to federal prison for 11-year bribery sentence

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is set to report to federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as 鈥淕old Bar Bob,” according to his […]

2 hours ago

‘Shazam!’ is a superhero movie made mostly for kids