After the decent, melancholy—and I suppose—underrated Man of Steel, and after the most spontaneously clustered superhero movie ever contrived Batman V Superman, and after the AWFULLY DISAPPOINTING music video Suicide Squad, and after the overrated but thankfully sufficient Wonder Woman, and after the HEADACHE URGING RUBBISH THAT IS Justice Leauge, and after the shockingly mediocre and, to all intents and purposes, kind of apologetically fun(?) Aquaman, Warner Bros. Pictures delivered to the DC movie fans—if there even are any still lurking amongst us—the light-hearted yet, atypical Shazam! which handsomely falls under the category of not only a “good” DCEU movie, but a “good” film.
Just the opening sequence alone can prompt audiences to suspect that Shazam! may be a whole different kind of monster compared to the diluted plagues of redundantly formulated superhero origins. Commonly known as a household name in the modern age of horror, director David F. Sandberg is able to combine his knack of spawning blood-curdling scares and weighty subject matter with some newly present carefree comedy.
Even if Shazam!’s entirety does doze off as a slightly more tense and overlong television episode from an 80s sitcom, it’s nonetheless, an admirable one at that. Zachary Levi is unreservedly enchanting in this—his portrayal is slowly molding into one of my favorites of the bracket—as well as a bulk of the juvenile supporting cast. But, what sticks out like a sore thumb is this blockbuster’s ability to stray away from DC’s proverbial shallowness in the “compelling” character and narrative division. Shazam! is able to scout some bracing, mature themes while undergoing a less familiar “family is important” implication.
So yeah, maybe it is easy and a bit of an understatement to say that “Shazam! is the best DCEU movie to date”, so let me format this into a brighter and more persuasive context: For superhero cranks alike, Shazam! is the most fun you’ll have in the theaters with a live-action, comic book blockbuster since Avengers: Infinity War.
Verdict: B-
This Movie is a Part of My List: Ranking the DC Extended Universe From Best To Worst
“Shazam” will be released in theaters April 5, 2019
Burning the Celluloid 
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