EVERY HERO HAS A SECRET.

In Philadelphia, 14-year-old foster child Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is magically transported to a place where he acquires the power of turning into an adult superhero.

A DC Comics adaptation that finds the sort of light touch that made several Marvel Spider-Man movies a hit. There’s a lot of charm in watching the teenager try to find himself as a grown-up man with unfamiliar superpowers. David F. Sandberg has made good horror movies, but seems comfortable in this genre as well, even if the movie is a tad overlong.

Zachary Levi amusingly finds his inner 14-year-old; Jack Dylan Grazer is a perfect little sidekick.

2019-U.S. 132 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by David F. Sandberg. Comic Book: Bill Parker, C.C. Beck. Cast: Zachary Levi (Shazam), Mark Strong (Thaddeus Sivana), Asher Angel (Billy Batson), Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Grace Fulton, John Glover, Adam Brody. 

Trivia: Co-executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, who was slated to appear as the film’s villain; instead, Johnson starred in a later spin-off movie, Black Adam (2022). Shazam previously appeared in a 1974-1977 TV series. John Cena was considered for the part of Shazam. Followed by Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023).