View Poll Results: SHAZAM!

Voters
11. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yay!

    9 81.82%
  • Nay!

    2 18.18%
Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Shazam! (David F. Sandberg)

  1. #1
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    4,703

    Shazam! (David F. Sandberg)

    Last edited by Henry Gale; 03-15-2019 at 04:56 AM.

  2. #2
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    37,786
    And??
    Twitch / Youtube / Film Diary

    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  3. #3
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    4,703
    I was never exactly wowed but not ever outright disappointed. It might have been my own circumstantial of fatigue with not only seeing this so soon after Captain Marvel, but also having finally just watched Aquaman this past week, and similar to that last DC movie, I'd say this is "fine." Interesting and dynamic in spurts but though still not consistent or unique enough to know if it's worth recommending.

    But because Shazam! doesn't do much transgressive stuff in the superhero narrative space, the elements that ended up sticking out most and ultimately being the most resonant were those that pertained to Billy's foster journey in not knowing how to accept the new family he's brought into, while struggling to truly grow up by wrestling with his past and simultaneously being given the ability to be made into a superhuman adult at will (which the parallels of maybe don't click as perfectly allegorical to one another as they could have).

    It's funny with the recent new direction of DC's movies of aiming to be more standalone that this is feels like the most universe-unifying installment of their recent cinematic era to date, since here you get a fleshed-out sense of how regular people feel in a world where Aquaman, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman exist. Of course they'd idolize them and wear their symbols on their clothes and accessories. We do that in our world where they're fictional!

    So again, the foster family characters and their performances are easily the most effective pieces of the puzzle, but that puzzle is pretty simple one that takes little time (and it is very efficiently paced, since it felt a good half hour shorter than its 132 min runtime) and the picture it ultimately makes isn't all the special.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  4. #4
    Sunrise, Sunset Wryan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Charleston
    Posts
    6,363
    A very earnest and charming movie. It does a nice job. It's not a colossal success, but it's a good time. They probably overdid it with the trailers getting people interested in the property, as they spoiled many of the good moments. Yet they also hid some real surprises, including the biggest one in the climax that was so cool to see play out. Levi does a great job, as do the kids. A good bit of the humor is pretty obvious, but much of it works anyway. Props to the biological mom actress, who had a very difficult job in her few short moments but really sold it. Harsh stuff for a kids' movie, including some of the deaths--probably gonna be too scary for the really young.

    A 3 out of 4 star movie if ever there was one. If they get to do a sequel and learn the right lessons from this one, it could be truly great.
    "How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"

    --Homer

  5. #5
    Sunrise, Sunset Wryan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Charleston
    Posts
    6,363
    Would be interesting in the sequel if they did a subplot about [
    ] I could see that working well, and Jack Dylan Grazer is a good actor so I'm sure he could pull it off.
    "How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"

    --Homer

  6. #6
    Director bac0n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Monster Island
    Posts
    6,501
    I agree with Wryan's sentiments. This film's heart is in the right place, fer sher, and, yeah, great payoff in the final battle. I really do hope we see more of [
    ]
    Losing is like fertilizer: it stinks for a while, then you get used to it. (Tony, Hibbing)

  7. #7
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    9,853
    This was pure dumb fun from beginning to end. I loved that they went all out with Mr. Mind and the Marvel Family but I was left surprised that there wasn't a cameo of The Rock as Black Adam.

  8. #8
    Producer
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    2,936
    Everything to do with Zachary Levi and his grappling with powers are pure giddy fun. Shame about how rather banal everything else is though, including the hero’s and villain’s backstories, however good, touching messages they give. 6/10
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  9. #9
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    37,786
    This was OK. Henry's first line about "never exactly being wowed but not ever outright disappointed" describes my experience. Is it the best DCEU movie? By far. It's the first experiment in borrowing the Marvel formula, adding a flavor of the campy Raimi Spider-man films, while still keeping it relatively grounded and small scale. Zachary Levi is the standout, playing a 13/14 year old boy in a grown man's body. Shazam is the kind of character you WANT to see teamed up with the Justice League in the same way you wanted to see the Guardians of the Galaxy interact with Tony Stark.
    Twitch / Youtube / Film Diary

    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  10. #10
    - - - - -
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    11,530
    I agree with Henry, in that everything around Billy, his mom, and the foster family was more interesting than the superhero stuff. The cast was so charming and their scenes together so heartwarming that I wish the movie had been solely about them, without all this other nonsense.

    The movie was too tame and it didn't have enough story to fill its whopping 2 hour plus run time. The last 45 minutes is an extended brawl between a dull hero and a duller villain.

    The opening exposition was bizarre. Why cross Christian mythology with Greek? Why does the villain want or need more power? None of this stuff is explored, and Shazam, as a superhero, doesn't do anything interesting. Mostly, his powers --- and the movie --- revolve around displays of brute force.

    There was a 2 episodes arc in the animated "Justice League Unlimited" that did Billy Batson a little better. At least, it had the ambition and intelligence to recognize what makes this character interesting in his own right and not just a cheap rip-off of Superman: What does it mean to be a hero when you don't understand what it means to be an adult?

    There are so many ways they coulda reinterpreted superheroes, or subverted them, but instead the movie offers a mushmilk hero and a warmed over plot built around violent set pieces.

  11. #11
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    29,050
    What you said about JLU could apply to every DC hero out there.

    They did it all better than anything live action.

  12. #12
    - - - - -
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    11,530
    Quote Quoting megladon8 (view post)
    What you said about JLU could apply to every DC hero out there.

    They did it all better than anything live action.
    Batman and Wonder Woman got pretty good turns in live action. Superman, sorta. The rest ... meh.

    Either way I still think it's a valid criticism, and something worth mentioning every time out, because multi-million dollar movies shouldn't be routinely shown up by 20 minute cartoons.

  13. #13
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Neo-Ohio
    Posts
    16,583
    This was okay. I dont think I liked it as much as everyone else. May improve on repeat viewing but hot damn does WB STILL need to find someone else to cut their trailers. Still giving away entire film in trailers. Ruins the film experience.

  14. #14
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    3,819
    I similarly think this is just fine at beat. And it may not be nearly as bad as, say, Justice League or Suicide Squad, but it’s a hell of a lot more forgettable than those two. For better or worse, this is easily the all around least remarkable and least memorable film in the DCEU yet.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
An forum