We stay with superheroes next but move into DC’s weird and wonderful movie universe with 2019’s Shazam! that’s essentially Big but with super powers but also a total hoot. This is a film that refuses to take itself - or anything - too seriously and really benefits from being set at Christmastime. After being abandoned as a little kid, teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is moved around between foster homes, constantly landing himself in bother in his search to find his mum. A crazy twist of fate sees him bestowed a load of powers from ancient myth by a magical wizard (Djimon Hounsou) he meets on the subway. Oh yeah, and when he’s a superhero he turns into a full-grown man (Zachary Levi).
Suddenly this tearaway kid is a mega-powered grownup and can do pretty much anything he wants, the twist being he’s still an immature boy in this pumped up, muscleman body. A big chunk of the film is just ‘Shazam’ taking advantage of his powers and, more importantly, his adult status, running around town blowing stuff up with lightning, sneaking into nudie bars and getting into trouble with his best buddy Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer). Thankfully, teenage angst is not welcome here - it’s all about bringing the fun and the young kiddy cast are all pretty good, though it’s Levi who steals the show, full of attitude and enthusiasm, having the time of his life acting like a goofy, awestruck kid who just found a porno mag in a bush.
It’s as though the film was written after they went out and asked a bunch of kids what they would do if they had powers for a day. Tellingly, Freddy points out that most people are pervs and would want to be invisible but would never admit it. I don’t know what he means…
Of course with great power comes yadda yadda yadda and Billy does eventually have to use his powers for good and to learn important lessons and such, though things are kept enjoyably light and breezy, with a few proper scares in the Ghostbusters/Gremlins mould thrown in for good measure.
The holiday season adds some extra festive flavour, with some of the movie’s grandest set–pieces taking place at the awesome “Chill-a-delphia” winter fair. Even Santa makes an appearance and the film finds just the right balance of absurdity and sentimentality as our protagonist finds a new surrogate family just in time for Christmas. Everything is layered in a heartwarming sheen of schmaltz but the filmmakers wisely understand that most real families show their love by mucking around and taking the piss out of each other. This one’s a holly jolly supernatural treat that can’t resist chucking a few sneaky Big homages in there.
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