I watched the “Super Power Hour” featuring Shazam and Isis on TV when I was younger. It was back when superhero movies didn’t cost a fortune; we had to be happy with cartoons and cheaply made television shows that tried their best to capture the feel and action of comic books within whatever budget and technology they had. Warner Bros. has brought another DC hero to the screen with “Shazam!” hoping to start a new series for the studio and continue the success of “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman,” following some earlier attempts at building a superhero franchise that didn't quite work out. The movie tells the story of young Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who has moved around through several foster homes after getting lost at a carnival years before, and still hasn’t been able to find his mother. He never stopped looking for her and even taken drastic steps in his search that have landed him in trouble with the authorities. While trying to protect a family member at his latest foster home, Billy has to run from some local thugs and encounters an ancient Wizard (Djimon Honsou), who tells him he now possesses incredible powers because he’s become a guardian against evil when he says a certain name. Billy is skeptical, but after speaking the magic word, he transforms into a powerful hero with an adult body. Zach Levi plays the title character and quickly gets excited to try out his new abilities. His foster brother, who's obsessed with superheroes, happily agrees to mentor him and film all of his training for online videos. Their activities soon attract the attention of a villain (Mark Strong), who wants Billy’s power for himself. Along with the Seven Deadly Sins, he plans to become an unstoppable force of evil and destroy anything that stands in his way. The movie seems geared toward a younger audience since much of the humor is aimed at middle schoolers. There are several references to “Big” which pretty accurately describes part of the story because when he’s in hero form, the young boy without a family becomes an adult who's fun and energetic. This was one of the strangest things about the film. Billy is usually serious and doesn’t trust people easily; however, when he transforms into his heroic persona, he acts like a goofy teenager. I could understand him gaining confidence, but it seems odd that they are supposed to be the same person. Levi gives an enthusiastic performance and really commits to the role, doing a good job of portraying a kid in an adult’s body. The main problem with the film is that there's a lot of humor geared toward a younger audience and long stretches with little action, which made watching all the childish antics a bit tiresome at times. Even so, it was entertaining and one of the better adaptations of a comic book. There are plenty of opportunities for future adventures, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next. 3.5 stars out of 5

Source on TMDB