Shazam!

Dir: David Sandberg

2019

***

The superhero character Shazam has had such a turbulent history, I’m actually shocked that a live-action feature film has finally been made. I’m not sure it was worth the wait however, or if they got the character right. I’ve never been a huge fan personally for two good reasons; Superman and Bananaman. Superman has a far better origin story and Bananaman does the whole kid turning into a superhero thing far better and with heaps more charm. DC has a tendency to get too serious with their characters and Shazam has always suffered because of this in my opinion. I think the one thing Shazam is best known for is the ongoing trademark conflicts with Marvel Comics, who owned the trademark for "Captain Marvel" – the character’s original name. DC renamed their Captain Marvel superhero character Shazam after acquiring the publishing rights from Fawcett Comics in 1972. Captain Marvel had originated at Fawcett in 1939, but fell into limbo after 1953 following a long legal battle with DC over Captain Marvel's similarities to Superman. The truth is, DC bought a copy of their own superhero and were essentially stuck with it. Captain Marvel/Shazam did outsell Superman comics in the early days but it was short lived. For me, Shazam represents the desperation and lack of creativity in the early days of superhero comics, the only reason he’s being churned out now is because he’s been around so long, he’s cheap (they own him) and he could be re-invented. At least, he should have been re-invented. I’m always one for appeasing the original fans, but in this instance there are so few of them, I do wonder why they bothered? I believe this film is aimed at a new audience, so why not do away with all the nonsense about Wizards and gods? They could have updated the suit while they were at it but to be fair it isn’t all bad. Actually, much of the film is rather enjoyable but I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was great. New Line Cinema began development of a Shazam! live-action feature film in the early 2000s, with multiple screenplay drafts by William Goldman, writing partners Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, Bryan Goluboff, and John August. How you can go from the great William Goldman, writer of such classics as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man and All the President's Men, to Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen – creators of Cheaper by the Dozen and Garfield: The Movie, is beyond me. In the end the final script was written by Henry Gayden, who wrote a short film in 2011 called Ham Sandwich. It’s as if DC had nothing to loose, and in many respects they didn’t. It is impossible not to compare what DC and Marvel are doing at the moment and DC is so far, about as left in the dust as they possibly could be. Their Justice League project was rushed and now looks dead in the water, Wonder Woman was good but really not as perfect as it first appeared and I thought Aquaman was a CGI headache. Marvel have found that perfect balance and are producing hit after hit. DC doesn’t need to copy Marvel, they just need to adapt the comics they already have, rather than ‘look for a new audience’ or try to appease everyone, because so far, they are pleasing very few people. They need to hire better writers, fans of the comics for starters, and they need to think outside of the box. They also need to cast their films better but that is actually something they get right with Shazam. Zachary Levi, like Gal Gabot and Jason Momoa, are great in the lead roles. But are somewhat let down by the supporting cast. I liked Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer as the boy who turns into Shazam and his best friend respectively, but no one else quite held my attention. I didn’t think much of David F. Sandberg’s direction either and I wish DC would stop hiring horror directors for their ‘family friendly’ films. Two Annabelle doll cameos in two DC films is ridiculous, if only the directors could focus on the subject in hand, rather than pat themselves on the back for previous work that they’ve done. Annabelle has no business being in a DC superhero film, its stupid and distracting. The version of the script written by August, which went into pre-production in 2008, was an action-comedy which focused on the origin story of the hero, and it seems this hadn’t been updated in the ten years that followed. Peter Segal, who had never directed before, was attached as director and Dwayne Johnson was in talks to appear as the film's villain, Black Adam. Following the success of Warner's Batman film The Dark Knight and the commercial failure of its lighter, family-friendly Speed Racer, both during the summer of 2008, August departed from the project, citing pressure from the studio to make the screenplay darker and more serious. In August 2009, Bill Birch and Geoff Johns, a prominent DC Comics writer, were assigned to write the screenplay, while Segal remained attached as director. In August 2010, the studio considered canceling the theatrical movie in favor of a live-action series for prime time network television. In December 2013, Segal stated that the film would not be happening, as the similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman had become an obstacle after the successful launch of Man of Steel earlier that year. It’s hard to tell what changed since then, other than DC running out of ideas, but the film doesn’t seem to sit well as part of the Justice league films or on its own – especially when it references the Justice league characters so much. The Superman non-cameo towards the end of the film seemed awfully desperate, in a film that didn’t quite know what to do with itself. It’s part kids film and part horror movie, with Spider-Man’s self discovery but in Superman’s body. I really don’t care enough about the DC universe to get upset about it and it is for that reason that I liked the majority of it, or at least I think I did, because at this point I think I’m just relieved when I don’t actually hate a DC movie. It’s an oddity, not the worst superhero film ever made, indeed DC could learn a lot from it, but I can’t say I’m desperate for a sequel or anything.