When they aren’t dominating the cultural landscape with interconnecting narratives, comic book movies struggle to find the right tone. Some choose to mock their own premise (Deadpool) while others go for down the grimdark path for the gritty reboot (any Batman film since 2005). Director David F. Sandberg’s SHAZAM! distinguishes itself by treating its hero with respect but having the wisdom of Solomon to not take itself too seriously.
Inspired partly by the Geoff Johns and Gary Frank origin story that ran in Justice League between 2012 and 2013, we meet a young Thaddeus Sivana, who finds a path away from his downtrodden life when a wizard whisks him away to the Rock of Eternity and offers him untold power. Finding him unworthy, the adult Sivana (Mark Strong) becomes obsessed with claiming the dark power. Fearing he has no time left, the wizard reaches out to troubled orphan Billy Batson (Asher Angel). When he says the magic word, he becomes the wizard’s champion (Zachary Levi).
Aside from a few visual references, and a lot of merchandise on shelves, SHAZAM! is a complete tonal departure from the DC Extended Universe. James Wan’s Aqauman notwithstanding, the DCEU has been aggressively humourless. Yet the core of Henry Gayden’s script mashes up the wide-eyed wonder of Big with a hearty dose of goofy, 80s, high-concept joy. The film seamless transitions in a handful of scenes from a scientist disintegrating like so many Raiders Nazis to the comical vision of Billy chuckling over the wizard declaring “Lay your hands on my staff.”
By the same token, Gayden and Sandberg aren’t afraid to go to some more serious places. Billy’s search for his mother drives the B-plot, but it is not the feel-good subnarrative of the summer. While stopping just short of pathos, Strong’s Sivana is driven by a childhood of being overlooked and shunned by his rich father. In true superhero origin style, the parallels between hero and villain run deep: both are looking for something they feel would make them complete, but neither has matured enough to know that it never will.
Levi is some inspired casting, and it is hard to imagine anybody other than the cheerily self-effacing star as a big kid literally wearing a padded suit. Levi has the difficult task of playing a very hyper-masculine physique off against the kid who is driving it. Helping him achieve this is the earnest performance of Jack Dylan Grazer as fellow orphan Freddy, an enthusiastic comic book geek who stands in for large parts of the audience. In one of the film’s more joyful moments, the duo test out the limits of Billy’s newfound abilities in a montage set to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
If the DCEU is dead, then this is the start of a genuinely exciting new direction. Culminating in a rousing showstopper of a finale, one that celebrates unconventional families as much as the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Gayden and Sandberg pave the way forward while enjoying being in the moment. May the reign of Captain Sparklepants be long and fruitful.
2019 | US | DIR: David F. Sandberg | WRITER: Henry Gayden (based on the DC Comics) | CAST: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou | RUNNING TIME: 132 minutes | DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films (AUS) | RELEASE DATE: 4 April 2019 (AUS)
