I Managed to See a Movie! (My Shazam Review)

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it, Product, Service, and Software Reviews

A 30-second preview was all it took to convince my ten-year-old son that Shazam was a movie we absolutely, positively, had to see. It didn’t take much to convince me. I love superheroes. My other half… well let’s just say that the heroes he prefers to watch on the big screen typically prefer military fatigues to capes and tights. More importantly, I couldn’t help thinking that soon he’d rather watch movies with his friends than me.

If you aren’t familiar with the film, Shazam about a fourteen-year-old foster child, named Billy, who is given the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury (or S.H.A.Z.A.M), as well as the body of an adult. It’s also set in the same world as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. As a result, the characters are less motivated to find out how to use Billy’s new powers for the greater good (because saving the world is already covered by the more experienced heroes), then how they can use them to get out of school work (and other things).

Billy has no clue about the extent of his powers, and the series of trials by fire (literally, in one case) to test his limits. This caused me to laugh out loud several times throughout the movie. However, there is also a much more serious side to the film centered around the definition of home, family, and the impact a parent can have on their child. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into it, but be warned there are scenes where a couple of the characters learn their parents aren’t without flaws–some more severe than others.

During one of these scenes, I couldn’t help thinking that there was some cosmic irony at play, considering I’d made such the point to see this movie, of all movies, with my son. I snuck a peek at my offspring. How was he handling it? I wanted to reach for his hand and have him nestle his head on my side like he used to do whenever he was confused or afraid, but he didn’t appear to be either of those things. Guess, my son is growing up even faster than I wanted to admit.

I returned my attention to the reason my wallet was thirty dollars lighter than it had been the day before (this is also one of the reasons I don’t write very many first-run movie reviews). Superhero meets Super-villain. Cue the fighting sequences, collateral damage, monologues, and epiphanies one expects at these sort of things.

Shazam, in many ways, is a film mirroring its central character. Like the fourteen-to-fifteen-year-old kid on the screen, the movie doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be when it grows up. It’s not a comedy, but its not an action movie, or completely family-friendly fare either. There’s cursing, monsters, and more than one random death that sort of comes out of nowhere. As a result, there were more than a few times I was glad I’d left my younger son at home.

It may not have the hype of Avengers: Endgame (or the bankroll), but it still has plenty of heart and better executed than some of the other DC movies I’ve seen (*cough* Dawn of Justice *cough* Suicide Squad *cough*). Therefore, I’m glad I took the time to see it in the theater, even if the person I saw it with made it an even better experience than watching what played out on the screen alone.

33 thoughts on “I Managed to See a Movie! (My Shazam Review)”

    1. As long as you don’t go into thinking you are going to see a nominee for best picture, it is entertaining enough-just don’t focus in too much on the monsters, which at the beginning, resemble something out of the original Ghostbusters. I liked Captain Marvel as well, though that movie has a completely different tone, and made me feel really, really old. I will warn you that, unlike Shazam, Captain Marvel is all about serving a much more narrow audience.

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      1. Funny point of note, Shazam isn’t the character’s name. He was originally known as Captain Marvel, so there are actually 2 Captain Marvel movies playing at the moment.

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  2. I watched Shazam with my 11 year old and just like you pointed out here, I reached my hand out to him but he seemed to be lost in the movie!
    One of the aspects of the movie that I really liked was how they showed in both positive and negative light the impact family can have on children.

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    1. My sons LOVED Peter Rabbit. We didn’t see it in the theater, but have watched it more than once on the small screen. That scene with the electrified door knobs… cracked us up.

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  4. Cute last line about your son. I’ll probably see it when it comes out on DVD and get it from the library. Suicide Squad was pretty bad. I don’t think I’ve even heard of that other one, so it must not be good!

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    1. Dawn of Justice is also Batman vs Superman. The premise itself was good, but the reason they stopped fighting was so contrived it rendered the whole movie ridiculous. Still it introduced Wonder Woman and her theme song, so not entirely wasted effort. Suicide Squad irritated me on so many levels. Thank goodness I hadn’t wasted a night out at the theater.

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      1. Wait a minute, that’s what Dawn of Justice was? Okay, then I think I did see that one. That I saw it and didn’t remember the title isn’t a good sign. They stopped fighting b/c of a shared mom’s name or something, right? Yeah, that was lame. Didn’t remember WW’s theme song in that movie. But then, I remember so little of it. Was it the song that played in the trailer for the WW movie itself? Led Zeppelin, I believe. That’s a good song. Sadly, I wasn’t awed by that particular movie, either. Am I just a hard sell? Could be.

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      2. Regarding the music, you are thinking of Thor: Ragnarok (best trailer ever)! WW’s is just this instrumental, and only briefly hinted at in this movie. But yes, the fact that both moms were Martha was all it took to stop the bloodshed. Puuuuuullllleeease.

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      3. But WW’s music was the “Awwwaaaahhhh-Ahhh!” along with the instruments, yes? That’s what I’m thinking of. Maybe that’s not the official theme song. Now I have to watch the Ragnarok trailer to see what song you’re thinking of!

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      4. You are thinking of the Immigrant Song, which is used in Thor. Great song, but not what WW uses. However, I can see why you might be confused as hers as a wailing beat to it.

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      11. Yea, me neither, but in my youth, and the not too distant past, I was proud to be called the Hero of Hyrule. Who has the time anymore? But it’s great to be a hero in your kids’ eyes too! Heh!

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  6. It looks like a bit of fun, so we might go see it this weekend. I actually kind of like Suicide Squad–mostly because a lot of it was filmed in Toronto and I recognized most of the places, especially some very near where I live!

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    1. That surprised me too when I learned about it as I’d thought it was just a magic word. I hope you like it when you see it. I found it to be very much Big meets Christopher Reeve’s Superman.

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