Billy Batson is a young boy who has been given the ability to turn into a superhero by saying the magic word, “Shazam!” Shazam! is a fun, light-hearted, humorous, but ultimately forgettable installment into the DC Cinematic Universe.  It is a superhero movie made for kids.   Those that will enjoy Shazam! will add that additional disclaimer; It is good… “for a kids movie.” Unlike last year’s animated movie Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse which is just a great movie and needs no caveat.

All of the young actors did a wonderful job in Shazam! Most notably Jack Dylan Grazer and Asher Angel. These two have bright futures ahead of them and I am looking forward to their next performances.  Zachary Levi was a good choice to play the title hero.  He has the look and personality to pull off a grown man-child. The villain always makes or breaks the movie. Mark Strong is a good choice when looking for a sinister adversary, however, the script and tone of the movie does not let him become anything more than your stereotypical underwhelming super-villain.

With the sheer volume of comic book movies that have been released recently, Shazam! will fall into the abyss as one of the least memorable movies in the past decade.  There are no cool takeaways or scenes to look forward to on a second viewing.  But if you are bored on a Sunday afternoon, it is an entertaining watch… for a kids movie.