Where I Watched it: MAX
English Audio Description provided By: Deluxe
Narrated By: Jedidiah Barton
I will die on the hill that even if DC is trying to torpedo Shazam’s own franchise, Zachary Levi needs to stay. The smartest decision James Gunn could make would be to figure out an alternative way of using Levi.
Sadly, this sequel doesn’t hold up to the original. Where the third Ant-Man film didn’t match the first two, Shazam really just feels like they gave up. Luckily, Zachary Levi is effortless in this role. he’s so good, so perfectly cast. he’s a giant man child, and he’s likable as hell. if they announced a remake of Big, I’d immediately pray for Levi.
But in many ways, that’s about where that ends. The original kids are all great, just really underutilized for the most part. Djimon Hounsou is mostly a joke here, and the villains just pop up with very little rhyme or reason. They also seem far more badass than Shazam. Their characters aren’t, just their powers.
I’m not sure what compelled Helen Mirren to do this film other than money. Rachel Ziegler is lost in a thankless role. Lucy Liu is a decent villain, but her character is so one dimensional. It does feel like it has stepped up to a bigger scale, but Shazam is still attracting the worst villains. Almost as a threat, mark Strong appears in the end credits sequence to remind us that they could bring him back, they just chose not to. It’s both the wrong and right decision, since the first Shazam teased his return, and right because his character sucked.
As far as the audio description goes, size relativity. I need it. I crave it. There’s a tree of life that grows out of nowhere at one point, and it seems to be a fantastical sized tree, but its size is vaguely described. how tall does it grow? how much does it cover? Considering it starts in a stadium, comparing it to the stadium would be a good start. What may be giant to you might not be the same giant someone else envisions.
I’m prone to enjoying superhero films, and Levi and the original kids are really great. But, this film feels like someone abandoned it, and just hoped it would somehow charm people into seeing it. Sadly, with james Gunn taking over, and being very unclear about Shazam’s future, I think everyone just felt like this was doomed.
Keep Zachary Levi. he’s a star, and the perfect Shazam.
Final Grade: C+
