Shazam Review: An Insane Amount of Fun For The Entire Family (Maybe)

This review is in no way sponsored. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

This weekend I took my entire family to see Shazam. Yes, even my 6 and 7 year old daughters. I need to point out that they have seen Avengers: Infinity War, and they are pretty used to language and violence in films. Say about that what you will – maybe we aren’t the best parents? – but they both loved Shazam! They were cracking up – we all were – and even cheering at the action. At one point, during a particularly violent and potentially scary scene, my 7 year old even yelled “now that is the action I was waiting for!“. Shazam is easily the second best DCEU movie, falling behind Wonder Woman. Read on for my full Shazam review.

Shazam is about a teenage boy who is given the powers of a Wizard, Shazam. He needs to learn to adapt with them and decide what exactly he is going to use them for. He was separated from his mother at a young age and has been living in foster care and group homes almost all of his life. In the beginning of the film, he is put in a home with five other kids, and rooms with one named Freddy. Freddy is big in to superheroes so when Billy is given this power, of course he goes to Freddy for help. They decide to test his powers and in doing so, become very close. When a super villain with control of the seven deadly sins shows up, things get a bit more difficult.

Humor and Action

I am not exaggerating when I say that several times during this movie I was laughing so hard, I had tears streaming down my face. There were so many great moments of fun – followed by an insane amount of action. There were some pretty epic battles that I cannot wait to witness again. The villain was phenomenal and someone you truly love to hate. I feel that there was the perfect combination of humor and action – DC nailed it this time guys.

A Great Message for Kids

Honestly, this movie has a great message for kids. Not only do they show kids the true meaning of family and friendship, they also push that everyone has a superhero inside of them. There were several heartwarming moments that my entire family enjoyed. But it wasn’t too overwhelmingly moral – if you know what I mean. We see some great character development – and Shazam has a lot of fun along the way. Strap in, because it is a wild ride!

Scary Parts for Kids

There are some parts that could totally be too much for some children. It all comes down to how well you know your own kids and what they can handle. Shazam has creepy demons that represent the seven deadly sins. They kill humans and at one point one even bites the head off someone. No blood is shown however. Shazam also has some language, as well as a couple of references that might be too much for younger ones. Like I said, my husband and I are pretty lax when it comes to this sort of thing – especially with comic book movies.

If you still aren’t sure about taking your kids to see Shazam, read this article where my friend Tania explains if she thinks Shazam is kid friendly or not. She counts the bad words and gets very detailed, so this is a great read for any parent!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Now I want to get in to my favorite parts of Shazam – and yes, this includes some spoilers. So be warned, if you have not seen this movie yet and do not want to be spoiled, stop reading here. but don’t forget to come back and finish my Shazam review after you have watched it.

Some Tears Were Shed

My 6 year old daughter did cry when Billy’s mom told him that she didn’t want him anymore, and he was better off without her. She is sensitive like her mama though, and yes, I totally cried at that part too. She also didn’t like when Freddy and Billy were fighting because, let’s face it, she doesn’t like to see friends fight. Of course they ended up being fine. Even best friends fight, and that is something she has to learn.

A Whole Family of Superheroes

When Adam Brody showed up, it totally made my day! The movie could have been trash up until then (it wasn’t) and I would have still loved this movie. I adore Adam because he played the lovable geek Seth in The OC. His character made me realize it was OK to be the nerd girl that I was when I was younger, and I think he was the perfect person to play “superhero Freddy”. I LOVED how they made all the kids heroes – and it was something I didn’t see coming. I kept thinking there were seven chairs so it can’t be the kids.

The Ending

Another one of my favorite parts comes at the very last second of the film. Superman shows up to surprise Freddy at lunch, thanks to his brother Billy, and IT IS EVERYTHING. I am not even a fan of Superman and I thought this part was pretty awesome. My daughters both gasped and that is when I knew I was doing parenting right.

End Credit Scenes

The first end credit scene shows the villain, Dr. Sivana in jail writing symbols all over the walls, trying to get his powers back. He hears a strange voice and realizes that a crazy looking caterpillar is talking to him. Now I have never been big into Shazam comics, so I had really no clue who this was. A quick google search taught me all about Mister Mind, and I have to admit, I am really excited to see him more in the future.

That was a pretty great stinger but then the final scene came. That Aquaman dig though. The very last lines of the enter movie and I was cracking up to the point where I almost couldn’t breath. While I did think that Aquaman was a decent DC movie, I have never been a giant fan of the guy. His powers are meh, and so I about died when Billy said they were lame.