Shazam is a coming of age story following fourteen-year-old Billy Batson as he is given superpowers. His powers are activated when he says “Shazam!” and he transforms into an adult (played by Zachary Levi) and gains the abilities of flight, superhuman strength, superhuman speed, and some sort of electrical manipulation ability that is not particularly clear. The movie is rated PG-13, lasts about two hours, and was directed by budget horror movie connoisseur David F. Sandberg.

This movie is not a typical superhero movie. In fact, this movie’s superhero action scenes are not that great. However, they are not the focus of the movie, and instead, the focus of the movie is the comedy and the emotions that come with growing up. The often times over the top, cartoon-ish humor of this movie is perfect for Zachary Levi as he is an incredibly animated person. Most of the jokes landed with the audience, and I even heard some tears nearing the end of the movie because this is a surprisingly emotional movie, despite not being too serious. The villain in the movie is pretty mediocre (Dr. Sivana), and his CGI demon henchmen are even worse.

Despite the incredibly forgettable villain, Shazam and his best friend are a hilarious duo, and their chemistry instantly makes for an interesting watch. This movie also seems to be disconnecting from the DC cinematic universe (thankfully) and is definitely one of the best DC movies to come out in the past few years. Even if you generally dislike superhero movies, you will probably find some entertainment in Shazam.