I was oddly excited for this trailer to come out. I like both Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer quite a bit so I was excited to see them in the movie. However the set photos did not impress me at all and the suit took some getting used to (even now). Although, I was a bit familiar with Shazam’s story, Billy Batson, the wizard and all that so I was still excited to see it come to life in live-action.

First off, just have to get this out of the way. Why is a Christmas movie being released in April and why is a summer blockbuster being released in December (Aquaman)? Their released dates should obviously be switched. When I watched the trailer for the first time and I saw the Christmas decorations, it took me out of it. Also why in April against Avengers 4, it doesn’t make any sense!

 

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t really sure that getting a Disney Channel star to play Billy Batson was a good idea but Asher Angel has convinced me in less than a minute that he has what it takes to play the iconic role. Not only is he a fresh face to Hollywood but he has charisma to spare. The latter can be said about Jack Dylan Grazer who stole every scene he was in, in IT last year. Grazer already proves that he has great comedic timing in this trailer with the jokes in the beginning. It looks like Grazer will have the most screentime out of the two which can be both good and bad.

 

It’s good because Grazer is so likeable he has chemistry with both Levi and Angel. So it really doesn’t matter who he is interacting with. The downside which is not Grazer’s fault in any way is the character of Billy Batson who is played by both Zachary Levi and Asher Angel. In the trailer I wasn’t convinced for a second that Levi was Billy. He was a whole different character. Maybe it’s like a Spider-Man situation where Peter acts a bit different than Spidey. It could be that, I hope that’s the case.

On the bright side Levi absolutely stole the trailer with the little time he was in it. He is so amusing to watch this innocent kid trying to act the role of a superhero. I loved the whole “your phone is charged” bit and the Flying Test. I do hope that we actually get to see Billy and not let have him be Shazam all the time.

 

So far I love the origin story. From the little I know about the wizard and the Shazam mythology. I was blown away when Billy stepped out of the train. It’s like it was literally ripped from the pages of comics. In my case the only time I encountered Shazam was in the animated series Justice League Action where there was a whole special dedicated to Shazam’s origin.

 

I was also surprised to see how well the Shazam transition was executed. I thought it would look cheesy and stupid but it was quick and sharp and I loved it. I think that this movie will do to Shazam what Superman The Movie (1978) did to Superman. Come to think of it I actually love how the suit is larger than life, it’s supposed to look that way, to exaggerate the point that Shazam is almighty and powerful.

I am definitely more confident in this movie than before. So far I like what I see, this could be the movie that the DCEU needs! We’ll have to wait and see how Aquaman does, speaking of the trailer review for Aquaman is coming soon! I just retired from my small staycation, the comic-con coverage was overwhelming and I had to just stop and take a breather.

Anyways what did you think? What do you think of both Levi and Angel as Billy and Shazam? Will you be seeing this movie or wait for it on digital?

 

Shazam! is coming to cinemas in April 2019.