Michael's Movie Grade: B
A really fun, if flawed, Superhero film.
Like the first film, this movie has a lighter and more comedic feel to it than most of the DC movies. Yet this does not mean that the characters or the film's heart or lacking because of it. The first Shazam film has probably some of the most touching moments with the ones dealing with his birth mom and foster family. While this movie may not reach the heights of those emotional scenes from the first film, this sequel does not lack in the emotional department. Billy's character arc here is quite good and explores some very interesting ideas for a superhero film. Despite being an incredible powerful superhero, he feels that he is not worthy of his powers and that they should have gone to someone else. He feels that even with his powers he isn't a real superhero, because he is still himself. This is not only an interesting idea but something any of us can relate to because most of us would feel the same way if we were given his powers. Another interesting part of his arc is that because he was abandoned as a child, now that he is almost 18, he is afraid of, being abandoned by his family, especially as they all go their separate ways. Again this is something that is deeply human under all the action and comedy. While there are definitely times when the filmmakers can make his character a little too goofy, this heart and emotional arc is even present in those scenes. His siblings Freddy and Mary also have their own arcs. While their arcs are cliché and predictable, they do their job of providing a real humanity for these characters. Where this sequel tops the original is in the terms of villains. The Daughters of Atlas are really good villains, despite not actually coming from the comics. These characters feel like a major threat to our heroes in a way that is much bigger than the first film. The first scene in which we see them, feels like it could of come from a horror movie as it is legitimately creepy. I could see myself as a kid having a couple of bad dreams after watching this scene. Yet the characters also work as part of the lighthearted fun of much of this film. They are a great counterpoint to our protagonists with how their sense of humor plays off against these characters' seriousness. This movie also benefits from really fun superhero action and a runtime that flies by really quickly despite being over two hours.
This film is full of humor and there is a lot of comedy for the majority of its runtime. Because of this there are times when the humor hits very well and times where it falls flat. The best comedy revolves around Darcy. She is the sweetest and nicest little girl who ever lived. She is a little kid in all the best of ways. This pure childlike joy and sweetness leads to the best jokes in the film, but we never laugh at her. Instead at the same time as we laugh, we also wish that we could be more like her. There are also some good gags that come from her complete innocence and the fact that she doesn't always understand what the older kids are talking about and what she thinks these conversations are about is just as adorable as funny. The worst gags are the ones that either make Billy too goofy or make it seem like he is becoming much more stupid simply for the sake of a joke. These jokes not only feel out of character for Billy, but they also are often not that funny. They feel like the filmmakers are trying much too hard and therefore quite forced. Overall though I would say that the good comedic moments outweigh the bad. This movie also knows when to be funny and when not to be. The scenes that need to be played seriously are played with few to no jokes, making them quite effective.
While this film's story is definitely engaging, it is also very familiar and therefore very predictable. You don't have to get far into this movie to figure out how it will end. We often times figure out what is going to happen next well before the characters do. The CGI also is often times not that great and too obvious here and can make this look like a movie from over 20 years ago.
This may not be one of the greatest superhero movies, but it is a lot of fun to watch and a treat to superhero fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment