Criticism of "Shazam!": An Oversized Alter Ego for Boy in a Sunny Superhero Movie



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If that sounds familiar to you – the Moses-like savior who learns he's made for greatness – it's because the character was designed to compete with Superman. Yet, as Shazam is not as well known as Supes et al., He is not so overwhelmed by fans' expectations, the fate of the world and the aspirations of the author. The filmmakers (Henry Gayden wrote the screenplay, directed by David F. Sandberg) adhere to the heroic template, which means that there is a bad one in the regulations (the Mark Strong, which can be reliably viewed) with conspiracies . But they also fill faces and places, and add enough shading and color to Billy's world so that when his inevitable fight against evil happens, it feels like something more than boxing. Office is at stake.

Of course, a franchise may be at stake, but given the frequency with which the name of the film escapes Batman and Superman, this can not help but give the impression that everyone in the DC movie is at stake. And maybe Shazam is a risk, just because he's an unknown avenger in an extremely overcrowded field. Created in 1939 and originally named Captain Marvel (and physically inspired by actor Fred MacMurray), this one was a hit and attracted fans such as Elvis Presley, who apparently borrowed his band and his flash at the comic strip. But for legal reasons, Captain Marvel was stored and then resurrected by DC as Shazam. (Marvel Comics, his longtime foe, has managed to assign the character name to the avenger currently played by Brie Larson in "Captain Marvel".)

The new film quickly sums up the story of Shazam, first by basing it on Billy, a mild, though somewhat melancholy, mischief maker who quickly becomes an attractive protagonist. The opening scene featuring two low-intensity cops is as old as a Bowery Boys movie, perhaps intentionally. Things quickly settle in at an easy pace every day when Billy moves into a new, welcoming family, a populated expanse of kids (Jack Dylan Grazer, among them) who are usually cute instead of cute. Carefully supervised by Rosa and Victor (Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews), the house has a lived intimacy, warmth and security that seem as helpless as the mix of ethnicities and races.

Once Billy announces this magical word and its oversized alter ego, the film goes to its place of happiness and comfortably embraces its own identity as a light, fun and modest entertainment. Levi is best known for her television roles ("Chuck", "The Wonderful Mrs. Maisel"), but it easily goes to the big screen. It may look like a beefier, stronger John Krasinski; as a Shazam, Levi is a pure cartoon, from his black hair helmet to his tumescent musculature. Ken-doll plastic and beautiful, it is an ideal figure, perfectly absurd, on which hang an old-fashioned hero with a high-necked satin cape and a large yellow arrow pointing suggestively.

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