What I’m watching: A surprisingly different superhero movie

In theaters: Shazam

I didn’t expect “Shazam” to be the box office success of some of the other recent superhero movies because the lead character of the film – the original Captain Marvel, now known as Shazam due to a long history of legal issues – is not foremost in the public’s knowledge of popular culture.

That’s too bad because it is a very good superhero entry and is actually about something other than a couple of characters with powers slugging it out. I’m heartened to read the film grossed $57 million in its opening weekend.

“Shazam” is about a teen’s efforts to find his true self and to understand his place in the world. If adolescence is difficult enough, imagine how being granted superpowers and being entrusted to becoming a champion for the world could affect you.

The Captain Marvel character was born in 1939 and was one of the earliest comic book superheroes. Created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, with many of his adventures guided by writer Otto Binder, the comic book became wildly popular, eventually outselling Superman.

A lawsuit that lasted 12 years between DC Comics – Superman’s publishers – and Fawcett Publishing resulted in Fawcett eventually settling out of court in 1953. DC re-introduced the character in 1973 but because Marvel Comics had grabbed the name for itself for a different character, DC was forced to title the new book “Shazam!” a name that was eventually assigned to the character.

So for many of the people in the target audience for this film, their knowledge of the original Captain Marvel character might be slight to none. It’s reassuring to see the filmmakers have clearly and affectionately taken key elements from the original for inclusion in this film.

“Shazam” tells the story of Billy Batson, an orphaned teen who has skipped out of one foster home after another. He is in search of his mother from whom he became separated as a young child.

For him, the only definition of family is reuniting with his mother.

His latest foster family accepts him immediately but he doesn’t accept them. After defending his disabled foster brother Freddy from bullies, Batson is transported to the Rock of Eternity where Shazam the wizard has been searching for someone to inherit his powers and protect the world before he dies.

He sees in Billy a purity of soul he has not seen in others and Billy, with the repetition of the wizard’s name, becomes a superhero. The wizard dies without any real explanation of what his powers are.

Unlike the original comics in which Captain Marvel and Billy knew of each other’s actions but were separate personalities, in this film Billy is the hero, so much of the story revolves around how would a 14 year-old cope with being an adult superhero.

That provides for both humor and drama with Freddy as Billy’s coach. They try to figure out what Billy can do.

Billy seems to be just fine posing for selfies for money and shooting off lightening bolts from his hands for tips from crowds when reality literally hits him in the form of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. Sivana had failed the wizard’s purity test years before and has spent his adult life searching for a way to get back to the wizard and acquire the powers he was denied.

When he realizes the wizard is dead he unleashes the Seven Deadly Sins from their prison created by the wizard and acquires their powers. Now, he wants to beat Billy into submission and gain his powers.

Along the way director David F. Sanberg and writer Henry Gayden incorporate some nice homages to the original comic book. Billy goes to a school named Fawcett, there is a character named “Bill Parker,” and a sequel is set up with the introduction of villain from the original comics – perhaps the most radical from the Golden Age of Comics – Mr. Mind.

There is another major aspect of the comic book that appears in the film, but revealing it would be a spoiler.

Asher Angel as Billy and Zachary Levi as Shazam make a great tag team. Levy is very good with comedy but is also effective as a hero. Mark Strong as Sivana provides his usual proficient villainy.  

What the new movie captures from the old comic book is a sense of wonder and humor that can frequently be lacking in many superhero films that are essentially soap opera slugfests.

Stick around through the end of the credits for two additional scenes.

So, here is how you can tell how much I liked this movie: first, I’m going to buy it when it comes out on Blu-ray and second, this may be the first live action superhero movie I will share with my grandson.

Go see it.