SHAZAM! (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner Brothers 
Release Date: July 16, 2019
Rating: PG-13
Film: 4/5

Plot
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).

My Thoughts
The DC movies have been hit or miss since the Batman trilogy from Christopher Nolan, but let’s be honest. There have bee way more misses than hits! In this case, DC delivers a fun movie that falls just short of Wonder Woman and is a solid effort from the comic book company trying to mimic Marvel’s success.

I had zero idea what to expect going into this film since I didn’t follow comic books as a kid but found myself thoroughly entertained from beginning to end. It’s a fish out of water story that spoofs the genre and reminded me somewhat of a TV show from my youth, “The Greatest American Hero.” Our hero suddenly comes into his powers and isn’t entirely sure what his capabilities are, but fortunately his sidekick is well versed with superheroes and is there to guide him along the way. I was surprised by how touching the backstory is and how the characters grew throughout the movie.

As fun as the movie is, it certainly helps that that this is one of the best looking and sounding UHD Blu-rays of 2019. Wow—it looks simply marvelous. It’s derived for a 3.4K source and looks the part. It’s razor sharp, features bold colors, and inky blacks. Not to be outshined is the Dolby Atmos track which utilizes every speaker in the room to place you in the middle of the action and includes a copious amount of LFE.

Video 10/10

Audio 10/10 (Dolby Atmos)

Special Features:

• Shazam! Exclusive Motion Comic
• The Magical World of Shazam!
• Super Fun Zac
• Carnival Scene Study
• Shazamily Values
• Who is Shazam?
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Blu-ray+ Digital Copy

Conclusion
There haven’t been many new movies out on home video this summer, but I’ll take quality over quantity any time and this certainly packs a superhero punch. The A/V quality is off the charts and its also a wildly entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. Highly recommended.

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will have to get this one.

[AVSCraig]

I didn't have a clue what this movie was about. In fact I thought it might be stupid. The trailer looks hysterical. If the movie is that funny - like Deadpool - I'm down like a clown !

[David Vaughn]

I didn't have a clue what this movie was about. In fact I thought it might be stupid. The trailer looks hysterical. If the movie is that funny - like Deadpool - I'm down like a clown !

Similar to Deadpool, but PG-13. 

[TRainH2O]

I was a bit on the fence about watching this one. The trailer makes it look a bit too much like a kids film. Not that all kids films are bad but maybe a bit too corny to be entertaining.

I will give it a rent and see what all this 10/10 business is about.

Thanks, David.

[AVSCraig]

Similar to Deadpool, but PG-13.

That's fine. There's a place on the shelf for those ( not all my guests have R rated tastes ), and Kickass / Deadpool etc. !!

[tgm1024]

And if you still have kids.  Mine are almost 13 and almost 15, so Deadpool (IMO) is b.o.r.d.e.r.l.i.n.e ok_ish.  But there are younger friends and family of theirs, so I'm looking forward to this movie.

DC's theatrical fall from grace is soul-crushing to me in many ways because as a kid I just couldn't get into the Marvel (comics) side of things.  Far too many cross-overs of characters to keep the storyline straight for me.

And when DC embraced Alan Moore, things really took off.

But for movies?  They just never had the long-game visionaries that Marvel was able to gather.

BTW, the whole DC/Captain Marvel/Shazam/Marvel Comics/Whiz/Fawcett thing is a historical hoot.  You should look it up.  But be prepared to be confused by the timeline.

Shazam (as Captain Marvel):

SHAZAM! (UHD Blu-ray) review

[AVSCraig]

I was a bit on the fence about watching this one. The trailer makes it look a bit too much like a kids film. Not that all kids films are bad but maybe a bit too corny to be entertaining.

I will give it a rent and see what all this 10/10 business is about.

Thanks, David.

I found this movie to be hysterically funny at times. Loved it. I nearly blew wine out my nose more than once.