Is this the end of mediocre DC movies?
Honestly, I expected much less from Shazam! The fact that I watched this in complete silence with my girlfriend says a lot – it was so engrossing. Could it be that I had no idea what the premise was so felt I had to pay more attention? Possibly. Regardless, it was a very entertaining watch.
Don’t get me wrong, this movie isn’t riveting the entire way through. It kind of loses its way a little in the middle. There’s some drag and some slow story-telling, which made me will it to move forward quicker. (The film runs at 132 minutes, so even shaving off those extra 12 minutes could have fixed that). But I digress… It was still thoroughly entertaining.
Without revealing spoilers, there’s a plot twist in the final quarter that I didn’t see coming and it was glorious. As one of those annoying plot twist detectives, I was surprised and happy it wasn’t such an obvious one.
Performance-wise, I was once again impressed with Jack Dylan Grazer, who also appeared in It: Chapter 2 in 2019. Yes, he kind of plays the same character in both, but he pulls off that annoying-yet-lovable character expertly.
The scene-stealer, however? Faithe Herman, who plays the titular character’s foster sister, Darla. This is an actress who is consistently strong in TV’s This Is Us at only 11 years of age. I’m pretty sure she has a bright future in acting headed her way.
As far as superhero movies go, this won’t challenge the majority of MCU movies in terms of quality. But it’s definitely a fun, family-friendly watch.
TQR Category Ratings:
Performance: 
Cinematography:
Soundtrack:
Costume & Set Design:
Overall Rating:
The Quayside Review 
2 Comments