If you were worried that DC is going towards the fun and cheerful approach to their movies with Shazam like Marvel does, then relax. David Samberg, like James Wann before him, adds his own taste of horror throughout the movie. Most notably the boardroom scene, which is nothing short of iconic. There isn’t much to the plot, it’s a rather simple story. But, what makes it so extraordinarily is the brilliant casting and the surprising mixture of lighthearted and horror filled moments. Asher Angel’s performance was a little disconnected from Zachary Levi’s, it was hard getting to imagine that they were the same person. While Levi’s looked like he was born to play Shazam, Asher didn’t. Faithe Herman who I know from This is Us, is simply too adorable for words.
Grace Fulton didn’t have enough to work with, which was disappointing but expected. Ian Chen adds his own endearing flavor, while Jovan Armand manages to shine as Pedro in the little screen-time he had. The real scene-stealer in the Shazam family goes to Jack Dylan Grazer, his performance as Freddy was so good that I almost wished he was cast as Shazam. But I was glad that he wasn’t because he wouldn't have had screen-time that Freddy had. Mark Strong plays the role of a villain so effortlessly that he makes it looks like he does actually fly in real life. Overall, Shazam was unexpected. I went in expecting a marvel type of a superhero movie, which is not bad, but not great either. The humor is well placed, and so are the serious moments. It’s a family-friendly film, with enough mature moments to make it enjoyable for an older audience too. Despite Shazam’s advertising that he does not take himself too seriously, the movie definitely does in a good way.
