4kUHD/Movie Review: Shazam

 

Shazam is a 2019 action/comedy in the DCEU starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Caroline Currey, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Michelle Borth, Djimon Hounsou, John Glover, Ian Chen, Cooper Andrews, Ross Butler, Jovan Armand, Megan Good, DJ Cotrona, and Adam Brody. Shazam is one of the lesser-known (at least to the non-comic book fans) of the DC Superheroes. If you are old enough, you may remember the cartoon that was on TV back in the 1980s. 

In the story, Shazam is a superhero with powers similar to Superman. He is actually a kid named Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel) who is given powers by a Wizard (Hounsou) that allows him to become a superhero with powers when he says the word Shazam, which transforms him into an adult wearing a super-suit with a huge lightning bolt on his chest. Billy is a kid who bounces in and out of various foster homes after running away from them, trying to track down his mother, whom he has not seen since getting lost at a carnival when he was a little kid. Hounsou's version of the Wizard Shazam is looking for a champion who is pure of heart to inherit his powers to battle the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins and their champion, Doctor Sivana, played by Mark Strong. I will not say what roles the supporting cast plays because it would spoil the end of the movie, but all of the actors do a great job with their characters.

The movie is really an origin story with Billy trying to figure out his superhero powers. Levi does a great job of playing a 14-year-old kid stuck in an adult's body, and you get that he would be a kid, not necessarily being a serious hero, when he gets these cool powers. Mark Strong did a great job as the bad guy and really played a great villain. The movie really seems to be what DC wanted for its movies, as a mix of action and comedy with a dash of seriousness mixed in. It feels a lot more like a Marvel movie than the other "Snyderverse" movies. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The UHD disc just has the movie on it, and the extras are all on the regular blu-ray. The film looks and sounds great in the UHD format, with an excellent A/V transfer. The extras include several behind-the-scenes and making-of features of various lengths, about 37 minutes of deleted and alternate/extended scenes, a gag reel, and a feature on the character of Shazam through the years. All in all, about two hours worth of bonus material (give-or-take). 

Overall, the movie is very good. Like I said, the tone is definitely different from the other DC movies, especially those directed by Zach Snyder, but it fits given the storyline. It is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of superhero movies and have not reached the superhero fatigue point yet.