All his life Billy has been trying to find his biological mother and has gotten himself into trouble while doing it. He hates being at an orphanage, so he just wanders the city and goes wherever he wants to. Finally, Billy is sent to live with a foster family. A wizard has been trying to find someone worthy enough to transfer his powers to. He choses Billy. By saying “Shazam”, Billy’s body transforms into an adult, one that comes with superpowers.
Blaine: “Shazam!” I call the “Deadpool” of the DC Universe because “Deadpool” is a comic book movie with a lot of comedy and there’s a lot of references to other comic books and that’s what “Shazam!” has. There’s a lot of superhero references that they just show right in front your face. Like Billy’s foster brother, Freddy, is always wearing a graphic t-shirt with a Batman, Aquaman, Superman or Wonder Woman symbol. Director David F. Sandberg knows that a lot of kids dream about being a superhero and “Shazam!” represents that where a kid gets to become a superhero. David F. Sandberg is best known for directing movies in the horror genre, like “Lights Out” and “Annabelle Creation”, but scaring people isn’t everything to David. He also likes to add moments in his films where the characters are having fun and “Shazam!” has a lot of that.
Zachary Levi is best known for being on the comedy series, “Chuck”, and my friend, James, says he’s really funny in that. Zachary has been a comic book lover all his life and playing a superhero was the best thing to ever happen to him, not to mention it’s his first movie where he’s the lead. Although this isn’t the first comic-book movie Zachary has been in. Zachary had a small role playing one of Thor’s friends in “Thor: The Dark World”. Zachary got a learning experience while working with Chris Hemsworth on “Thor: The Dark World”. Zachary saw how serious Chris took the role of Thor and he knows a lot of actors who play superheroes have to take the job seriously so that the comic-book lovers are really impressed, but Zachary didn’t have to take his job that seriously because this is a superhero who has a lot of fun. The only thing Zachary took seriously was working hard to put on the muscle weight. Wearing the costume wasn’t comfortable for Zachary because it was very tight and he would get cold in it while they were shooting the movie in Toronto. But the suit showed Zachary that this was really happening. Asher Angel and Zachary Levi spent a lot of time together because they were playing the same character. He has two different forms to him, but his personality remains the same and both Asher and Zachary did a good job making their personalities feel similar.
Billy becomes a celebrity when he’s Shazam and a little bit of a show off, but he doesn’t let fame get to him. Having powers is the most exciting experience anyone could have and Billy gets to explore things he never thought he would do in life. The superhero thing is amazing to him, but it's also a huge responsibility. Billy doesn't know how to be a hero because he's still a fourteen year old boy. He looks like a man on the outside but inside he still a kid. There's a lot he has to learn in order to become a hero. Everything has to be done one step at a time. Shazam will do things that make him look like a fool at times, but he is lucky it doesn’t cause him too much embarrassment.
Djimon Hounsou is one of those actors who gets around the superhero genre a lot. He had a cameo in “Aquaman” as a mutant creature from the sea and he recently reprized as his character from “Guardians of the Galaxy” in “Captain Marvel”. Now he plays the wizard who gave Billy the power to become Shazam. The wizard isn’t wise enough to know who the chosen one is, he just brings in whoever he wants and tests them out to see if they are worthy to have the Shazam power. Finally, the wizard decides to just go with Billy because he’s tired of searching. Both Shazam and the villain, Dr, Thaddeus Sivana, have issues with family. Thaddeus’ family has been hard on him all his life and treated him like a nobody. Being unloved has caused him to be a villain. As a kid, Thaddeus was one of the many people brought in by the wizard to see if he was worthy enough to be a hero, but he wasn't. Life hasn't been to kind to Thaddeus and so he turned evil. Thaddeus found a way back to the wizard and gained a different power with the help of these monsters.
Billy prefers to be alone at times. He feels no one understands him, but he’s wrong. His foster brother, Freddy, can read Billy perfectly on what’s troubling him when he first arrived at the foster home. Then when Billy becomes Shazam, Freddy’s the only one he can turn to because Freddy knows a lot about superheroes. Both Billy and Freddy spend a lot of time together and become close like brothers should. The rest of the kids surprise Billy with information on where his mother is at. All Billy wants is to find his biological mother. He lost her when he was two and he’s been trying to find her ever since. The foster kids show they want to help Billy.
The foster parents, Rosa and Victor, aren’t the type of people who just look after children, they really care for them too. Billy has been sort of shutting the foster family out, but he overhears Rosa saying how much she wants to get close to him. And then Darla, the youngest foster child, takes a liking to Billy the first time she meets him. She wants to be his little sister. The oldest foster kid, Mary, looks like the type of teenager who spends too much time on her cellphone, wants to just hang out with her girlfriends and talk about boys when you first meet her, but she is nothing like that at all. Family matters most to her. Mary even figures out Billy is Shazam because she is very observant. While having a chitchat with Mary, while he’s in Shazam mode, Mary tells Shazam how it would be hard to leave the foster family while attending a college that’s not in the same state. They were always there for her. It takes a while for Billy to realize how much these people actually care and want to be his family. Billy realizes it when he finally finds his mom. Billy’s mom had to let him go because she was an underage, unfit mother. Billy’s been looking for the only family he has, but what he was looking for, the foster family, was right there all along.
When his foster brothers and sisters are in trouble, Billy finds the strength and courage to be the hero he is supposed to be and stand up against the bad guy. Then Billy becomes the one in danger because Dr. Thaddeus Sivana wants to drain his power and the foster kids go to save Billy. Family sticks together no matter what. I’m no comic book expert, but I know the other foster kids develop powers too like Billy. I thought fans would have to wait for the sequel to see the rest of the foster kids become Shazams too, but as a treat we get to see their superhero forms very early. It’s cool because now Billy’s not the only Shazam. The rest of the family gets to experience how it feels to be in an older body and have superpowers. It’s really something for them, but especially Freddy because he’s very passionate about the superhero thing. Being a superhero is the most fun they get to have as kids. Darla, the youngest foster kid, likes exploring her super speed. While Darla was saving the lives of civilians from one of Thaddeus’ monsters on the ferris wheel, I was saying to myself “She should meet the Flash. I bet they would get along.” And during the end credits where it’s showing doodles, it shows Darla catching up with the Flash. Shazam's name is really Captain Marvel, but you don't hear it once in the movie. Both DC and Marvel have superheroes with the same name. Brie Larson commented on that while she was promoting "Captain Marvel" and she was being called a racist and a sexist on Rotten Tomatoes. Zachary defended Brie, even though she didn't need his help because she's a strong woman, but still it was nice of Zachary to help. Anyway, after defeating the bad guy and developing a close relationship with the foster kids, Billy had finally found his place and that’s with the foster family.
