Shazam! (2019)

A newly fostered young boy in search of his mother instead finds unexpected super powers and soon gains a powerful enemy.

Director:

David F. Sandberg

Writers:

Henry Gayden (screenplay by), Henry Gayden (story by)

Stars:

Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel

23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zachary Levi	...	Shazam
Mark Strong	...	Dr. Sivana
Asher Angel	...	Billy Batson
Jack Dylan Grazer	...	Freddy Freeman
Adam Brody	...	Super Hero Freddy
Djimon Hounsou	...	Wizard
Faithe Herman	...	Darla Dudley
Meagan Good	...	Super Hero Darla
Grace Fulton	...	Mary Bromfield
Michelle Borth	...	Super Hero Mary
Ian Chen	...	Eugene Choi
Ross Butler	...	Super Hero Eugene
Jovan Armand	...	Pedro Peña
D.J. Cotrona	...	Super Hero Pedro
Marta Milans	...	Rosa Vasquez

Storyline

In Philadelphia, Billy Batson is an abandoned child who is proving a nuisance to Child Services and the authorities with his stubborn search for his lost mother. However, in his latest foster home, Billy makes a new friend, Freddy, and finds himself selected by the Wizard Shazam to be his new champion. Now endowed with the ability to instantly become an adult superhero by speaking the wizard's name, Billy gleefully explores his new powers with Freddy. However, Billy soon learns that he has a deadly enemy, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who was previously rejected by the wizard and has accepted the power of the Seven Deadly Sins instead. Now pursued by this mad scientist for his own power as well, Billy must face up to the responsibilities of his calling while learning the power of a special magic with his true family that Sivana can never understand.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | dc extended universe | caped superhero | origin of hero | shared universe | 

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Taglines:

If you want to save the world, say the magic word.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material

Did You Know?

Trivia

David F. Sandberg wanted to portray Shazam's Speed of Mercury with lightning, but decided to remove the lightning since it would make the power too alike to the Flash.

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Goofs

One of the deadly Sins combats Shazam by turning to smoke, so he passes through him, then solidifying to gain the upper hand. The Sins never use this tactic again even when they're getting pummeled by the Shazam family.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Sivana: Thad... I said no toys at Grandfather's.
Thaddeus Sivana (1974): But it's Christmas.

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Crazy Credits

While Billy Batson and Shazam are credited separately, his siblings get their superpowered forms credited together (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody for Freddy Freeman, etc).

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Connections

Version of Shazam! (1974)

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Soundtracks

Feel Me Flow
Written by Vin Rock (as Vincent Brown), Anthony 'Treach' Criss (as Anthony Criss), DJ Kay Gee (as Keir Gist), Joseph Modeliste, Art Neville (as Arthur Neville), Cyril Neville, Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr.
Performed by Naughty By Nature
Courtesy of Tommy Boy Music
By arrangement with Shelly Bay Music LLC

User Reviews

Enjoyable, light-hearted superhero flick

This film loaded with silly humour, but it actually got some clever laughs and its heart is in the right place. When I say that this film has its heart in the right place I mean that it manages to get the balance of comedy and sentimentality without crossing too far over the line into cheesiness. Billy's story involves him not being happy in his foster home and trying to search for his mum. I felt sad for Billy. However, the way we get to know his new foster family, with all their individual quirks, shows us that he's in a safe and loving environment with genuinely good people. It's nice. When it comes to the superhero stuff I think this film manages to do well at demonstrating action scenes via the use of amazing visual effects. Perhaps near the end the film turned into something we've seen many times before, but it looked good while it was happening. The performances really carry this movie; Zachary Levi suited the role. Because he is actually playing a 14 year old boy he has to portray that convincingly - which he does with ease. He's really funny, and also looked suited to the action stuff as well. But one issue is that, the personalities between the adult and young Billy doesn't match, Zachary Levi is more convincing that's he's a 14 year old boy than younger Billy is. He come as across as very childish as an adult than he is a 14 year old. I hope they correct that in the sequel. Jack Dylan Grazer is pure comedy throughout this movie. His mannerisms are just as impressive as the words coming out of his mouth. He, which was a true supporting performance. Few minor issues i had with the movie is that the villain was too weak and the film did felt slightly too long. In the latter stages when the comedy was lessened and the serious stuff took over I did feel the film begin to lose its identity. The quirky comic superhero film was starting to look like all the others. I know they have to have the big battle between the hero and villain; but it almost lost me when all that stared.

All in all, Shazam is an enjoyable film with some positive morals going on. It has a lots of charms and a fine balance between humor and seriousness.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 April 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$53,505,326, 7 April 2019

Gross USA:

$140,371,656

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$365,971,656

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, DC Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1