Shazam! releases on April 5.DC’s latest film Shazam! has received largely positive reviews from the international press. Zachary Levi plays the superhero who is actually a 14-year-old boy and so far, the film has been appreciated for its humourous yet emotional approach. The film is being touted as the counterpart to Fox/Marvel’s Deadpool franchise, though this one is not R-rated. This is also a departure from DC’s otherwise dark films.
Here’s what the critics are writing about Shazam!:
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writes, “Shazam! suggests that if you’re taking a superhero’s powers deadly seriously, you may not be totally connecting with the spirit of the comics. The movie says: You’ve got to giggle at this stuff. That’s part of the adventure.”
IGN’s Jim Vejvoda calls its DC’s best since the days of Christopher Reeve’s Superman, “Shazam! is DC’s most joyful and sweet movie since the days of Christopher Reeve’s Superman, a funny yet earnest coming-of-age story about a boy who learns that, well, with great power comes great responsibility. So obviously, Shazam! doesn’t reinvent the superhero movie, but it’s an undeniably fun time that left me wanting more big-screen adventures with these charming characters.”
The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis writes, “The filmmakers (Henry Gayden wrote the script, David F. Sandberg directed) adhere to the heroic template, which means there’s a regulation villain (the reliably watchable Mark Strong) with schemes. But they also fill in the faces and places, and add enough shading and color to Billy’s world that when his inevitable fight against evil happens it feels as if something more than the box office is at stake.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck writes, “Shazam! will best be appreciated by younger (and younger at heart) audiences who should respond very enthusiastically not only to the broad comedy but also emotional components involving Billy’s desperate desire to be reunited with his mother and his growing attachment to his newfound family.”
Shazam! releases in India on April 5.
