"Captain Mar...uh, Shazam!" Topic

Okay, well, it's still not quite the Big Red Cheese I remember (no way would Cap, who has the wisdom of Solomon, be buying beer for an underage kid), but I'm willing to go with the humorous quasi-Big! approach to the tale. And I like Zachary Levi. So, I'm up for this. imdb.com/title/tt0448115

It doesn't seem to be taking itself as seriously as the REAL Captain Marvel.
Wait. Did I just say that?

Someone should point out that these are all from funny books.

I'll probably see it but I fear that after some good movies (anything with Wonder Woman, the Aquaman movie kiccked-ass and I also liked Suicide Squad) that the DC Universe is dropping the ball again.

I think DC is on the right track after ditching Zack Snyder. 'Aquaman' had the look and feel of an MCU movie, and 'Shazam!' looks like it's following the 'Deadpool' formula, albeit a PG-13 rated one (not counting 'Once Upon a Deadpool' that is).

If DC keeps copying Disney Marvel's formula of success and never go back to the grimdark "everthing has to look like The 300" style of Zack Snyder, there's no reason to think why they can't replicate the phenomenal success of 'Aquaman' at the box office with any of their titles.

Marvel's "Captain Marvel" almost seems like an afterthought, but we can see why Marvel Comics loves the name so much: link

Little wonder most comic book fans associate Shazam!/Billy Batson with Captain Marvel.

link

As much as I enjoyed the ‘90s JLA/JLI/JLE/JELANT comics (okay, the last one was a one-off, but still hilarious), I just don't see the Big Red Cheese as part of the DC-verse. He really doesn't fit with the rest of what they've done in recent years, especially as he and Superman have nearly identical powers (though I don't recall Cap being able to shoot lightning from his fingertips). Maybe they'll keep him in his own setting/world/universe?

Totally not going to watch this at all.

They are just playing the stupid dumb teenager becomes a grownup and still acts as a stupid dumb teenager.

Totally not going to watch this at all.

No one is twisting your arm, Mithmee. Now go back to waiting for 'John Wick Parabellum.'

just don't see the Big Red Cheese as part of the DC-verse. He really doesn't fit with the rest of what they've done in recent years, especially as he and Superman have nearly identical powers (though I don't recall Cap being able to shoot lightning from his fingertips). Maybe they'll keep him in his own setting/world/universe?

It's ironic (and poetic justice?) that DC strong-armed Fawcett into giving up Captain Marvel, only to be strong-armed in turn by Marvel to only refer to him as Shazam.

At least it's not a movie about an inconsistent, selfish guy raised by a paranoid misanthrope and Ayn Rand and told by Space Dad to become a God.

First 10 seconds of the preview was this looks great. After that, no way in hell will I ever watch this piece of offal.

See Martin,

We can agree on a few things.

'John Wick Parabellum.'

Yup, totally going to watch that movie.

Where's Les Tremayne and his RV when ya need him? ;^)

Typical hollywood. Make the Lady Captain Marvel out to be smart and perfect. Make the guy Shazam be boorish and stupid.

To be fair I think that DC saw how well humorous superhero movies could do and wanted some of that action.

There are plenty of smart male superheroes – Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, Antman, Bruce Banner (when not the hulk), Stephen Strange, Vision, Mr Fantastic,….

Shazam's acting "stupid" for a good reason: he's just a kid (Billy Batson).

Well that acting like a kid is going to see that there is no second movie.

The original Captain Marvel was never a kid— the superhero was realized as a fully adult character, not merely a suddenly-aged teen. Of course, the original Billy was a pretty smart cookie who worked as a reporter (in the ‘70s, this was for radio. Don't know whether the original Billy started in newspaper or not).

In the late ‘80s-90s JLA era, Cap instead retained Billy Batson's personality and younger perspective, trying to adapt to an adult world which largely assumed he was an adult. I didn't follow Cap that much then, so I don't know how they changed Billy himself, so I can't comment on whether some of the immature elements in the film previews existed in the character then. I suspect it's a departure and "reboot" of the character.

You are forgetting who is writing the scripts in Hollywood these days.

Which is what you are seeing in this movie and why I have no reason to see it.

I suspect it's a departure and "reboot" of the character.

Me too. DC/Warner Brothers decided that humor is the right approach for a Shazam movie to maximize the character's mainstream appeal. Who are we to say otherwise? Besides, the "Big Red Cheese" doesn't sound like someone who should be taken too seriously.

I predict 'Shazam' will continue the comeback of the DCEU that started with 'Wonder Woman.'

You are forgetting who is writing the scripts in Hollywood these days.

You mean the screenwriters behind 'John Wick: Parabellum'?

You are forgetting who is writing the scripts in Hollywood these days.

Who is writing the scripts these days ? I forget. It's just people, isn't it? Trying to find a story and a cast that'll get people into cinemas. Same as it always was.

I know you won't agree (judging from previous posts & discussions) but really there are some pretty good films out there these days.

Green Book is a good "opposites attract" buddy-buddy movie.
The Favourite is a perfectly good historical romp.
Captain Marvel – one of the best of the Marvel series.
Colette was superb.
Aquaman – surprisingly good fun.

Not everything is great – Holmes & Watson was terrible, Crimes of Grindalwald pretty forgettable (I can't remember it at all, it was ok at the time).

But this is always how it is – a lot of ho-hum, some real stinkers, and also some great films.

I am reading this and think that no one here has actually read the original captain marvel in Wiz comics back in the 1940s. The original Captain Marvel was a kid.

The first ‘American' comic I read was a Wow comic featuring ‘Mary Marvel' Captain Marvel's. I think the film Shazam is going way back that version of Captain Marvel. I think that they are even using the same name for the kid.

x42

After the edit bit switched of I notice I've left out the word sister. Mary Marvel was Captian Marvels sister not the Captain.

x42

Billy Batson was indeed a kid (I think I didn't make that clear in my post), but I believe Captain Marvel was originally presented as an adult in his thoughts and actions. The "S" in "Shazam" is for Solomon, implying adult wisdom.

Let's see if I remember this correctly:
Solomon (Wisdom)
Hercules (Strength)
Atlas (Stamina)
Zeus (Hmmm, okay, don't remember. Maybe Power? Or Invulnerability?)
Apollo (Intelligence)
Mercury (Speed/Flight)
= SHAZAM!
These were the beings from whom Captain Marvel's powers were derived.

Mary Marvel's alter ego was Mary Batson, Billy Batson's sister. Captain Marvel Junior's alter ego was Freddie, whose last name I've forgotten, and was the Batsons' cousin. The relationships were essentially treated as the same among the superheroes when transformed.

IIRC, Mary Marvel also said SHAZAM, but her powers were derived from ancient heroines and goddesses. I don't remember which ones, but I think Athena was in the mix.

Freddie, however, called out the name of his hero, "Captain Marvel." Which presented a particularly clever challenge in one story where he was somehow hypnotically prevented from saying the name, and couldn't transform. That is, until he realized he was not hypnotically prevented from saying "Captain Marvel Junior!" (Okay, maybe that's a little lame, but as a kid I thought it was a nifty solution.)

20thmaine,

Movies that Mithmee likes are "good".

Movies that Mithmee dislikes are "bad".

Not only are they bad but they are made with a sinister agenda having to do with SJWs and some other social engineering conspiracies. The fact that the "good" and "bad" movies are made by the same studios and possibly green lighted by the same individuals doesn't ever occur to him as it doesn't fit his narrative.

Okay, got my power sources mixed up! The second A is for Achilles (Invulnerability).

Movies that Mithmee likes are "good".

Movies that Mithmee dislikes are "bad".

Yup and if you follow the ones that are good you should enjoy the movie.

I thought the "A" was for the courage of Achilles .

Yup and if you follow the ones that are good you should enjoy the movie.

Sure. But what I was trying to do was getting you to appreciate the difference between the subjective, "I like this movie", and the objective claim of "This is a good movie". The two are not the same.

Secondly, the claim that this movie is good and that a second movie is part of a left wing, SJW agenda driven plot is nonsense. Many times both films are released by the same studio with the same production staff.

Well I did like watching Showgirls though it was not a very good movie.

Lol, me too! With my thumb on the fast forward button for the most of it.

For what it's worth (not much), Shazam! is 93 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Going to see it this weekend along with the latest remake of Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary.'

Well, I've seen it now and it was….ok. Very much a 6/10 for me. Not as funny as reviews had led me to believe, didn't seem to be able to decide whether it was for kids or adults: quite sweary and surprisingly violent (for a Rated for 12 year olds – it's no Kill Bill !) in places but crossed with a feelgood "getting a family" subplot.

It was made quite clear from the start that Cap Mar….err…Shazam was being granted all sorts of powers including super-smarts. He got the other powers, but he was not super-smart.

That is due to Hollywood writers who can't write anything these days.

Oh and the only reason to watch this is because it has Mark Strong as the villain.

And Mad Magazine in their latest ish,has an article where the Big Red Cheese ;^) is depicted in the style of various comic strips(ex. a "Far Side" take,"Peanuts","Calvin & Hobbes",etc.)