Movie Review - Shazam! (2019 Film, The REAL Captain Marvel)

I've been a Captain Marvel (the original one, not the joke Marvel put out) fan since I first saw the Filmation cartoon. In college I discovered the 1940 movie serials and golden age comic books and fell in love with the character all over again.

Shazam! is a 2019 live action superhero family film. It is rated PG-13 for a few disturbing scenes and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good

Humor. This movie is first and foremost a comedy. There are so many jokes, and they are all so funny. Yet they don't dominate the movie and take away from the story or the action, which is nice.

Uniqueness. This movie is not a thinly-veiled Superman movie, but is uniquely Captain Marvel and could only work form him. I really appreciate that.

Story. The story was solid. It was well paced, and there was sufficient character development.

Casting. The filmmakers cast the perfect people for Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, Freddy, and Mary. They were all very likable, had great chemistry, and had the spirit of the characters in the comic.

Nods. This movie made so many nods to other superhero movies, superheroes in general, and the current comic book movie craze. All were well thought out and felt fresh.

Credits. The end credits was so clever and really captured the fun of the classic Captain Marvel comic books.

The Bad

Black Face. This movie unfortunately followed the same racist trend of putting a character in blackface. It was completely unnecessary, and the character they cast was kind of ridiculous with his overacting.

Bumbling. Most of the movie is spent with Captain Marvel trying to figure out his powers and acting like a bratty kid. A little of that was cool and added to the story, but it was over done and became kind of annoying.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish Captain Marvel had been a little more competent and taken his role a little more seriously sooner than he did. The bumbling got old quickly.

Overall

The Shazam! film is as much fun as the golden age comic. The jokes were hilarious and plentiful. The casting of the main characters couldn't have been better, nor could their performances. The nods to other superheroes and superhero films were so well thought out and clever. The movie was unique and really played to the strengths of the character. The only real negative was too much time was spent on Captain Marvel trying to take his job seriously. I give this film 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.