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Shazam is the superhero film we need right now

. Thursday 4 April 2019 .

Sometimes you just really want to see "good" battle it out "evil" and what better way to do that than by watching a superhero film? Luckily for us, tis' the season for some epic superhero movies.




Allow me to explain. A few years ago I was going through a horrendous bullying ordeal at an old workplace. There was one incident that left me particularly shaken. I took the rest of the day off as per my doctors advise. I remember walking around in a daze and somehow ending up at my local cinema. I guess because as a film buff, movies have always been my escape. It was around lunchtime so the cinema was quiet and only a handful of movies were showing. I decided to go see Fast and the Furious, an unlikely choice from me given that I have never seen any of the previous films but I knew that this one had a bit of Luke Evans in it so that was more than enough for me. It wasn't my usual genre - I used to just stick to what I know and like. But that day, to my surprise, I found myself absolutely enamored.






It was so therapeutic watching a "good guys" vs "bad guys" narrative. I still can't put it into words now, but sitting there in the dark and seeing 'good' and 'bad' clearly categorised in an action-packed few hours was such an integral part of my healing.



Because real life is a lot more complex. People are multidimensional, there is 'good' and 'bad' in everyone, and sometimes the road to victory is long and exhausting and when faced with challenging situations, it's so hard to keep the faith and trust that 'good' always wins. I needed to believe in the good. In the heroes. In the happy ending. In the good guys always emerging victorious no matter how hopeless the situation was.




And isn't that the power of film. It takes us to another world when we need it the most. It can reflect our society and values. It mirrors themes that we go through in real life. It teaches us so much about ourselves and the world we live in.




Shazam may be fiction, but it's core values are very much real. For one, it's about family and how family takes many different shapes and forms. It's about finding a place to belong, finding people who believe in you and will stand alongside you as you discover your true powers. It's about the hangups and trauma we carry from our childhoods and how we mustn't let hate fester until it consumes our every being.

Although the underlying themes are serious, the film combined humour and heart so perfectly that I think this might be my favourite DC film yet. The story follows 14-year-old foster kid Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who instantly turns into a superhero just by saying one magic word - Shazam! Zachary Levi plays Shazam so well - he appears to be a grown-up but really is just a kid on the inside. I loved that this film injected a much-needed fun aspect to a superhero film. You don't often see that these days. The jokes had the whole theatre laughing - an audience mixed with kids and adults at that. To be able to craft jokes that both audiences would appreciate is just proof at how sharp the script was for this film.




I also loved getting to know Billy's 'family' and was so excited to see Ian Chen (Evan from Fresh Off the Boat) in his first major film! Also absolutely brilliant in this film is Jack Dylan Grazer who plays Freddy, Shazam's 'manager'/bestfriend/hype man in the film. While the cast does an excellent job when they deliver the more light-hearted scenes of the film, I find that it was during the films more tender moments that they really showed their true prowess. Shazam is filled with those moments - light and dark, funny then heavy. Much like the good/bad concept I was talking about earlier.




We need films like Shazam especially at a time like this when there is too much hate, too much suffering, too much pain around. We need films to remind us of the good and how we can be good. We need to see ourselves in these films, in the heroes, and in the story. Shazam reminds us that there is a superhero in all of us and I think that's why this film is so essential in today's current climate. I can't find confirmation anywhere on the internet about this (and it's not on the full cast list) but I think Emma Gonzalez makes a quick cameo in this film. And if it is her, then what a serendipitous twist that would be towards the point I was making about Shazam being the film we all need to see right now.




Shazam opens on April 4 nationwide. Thanks Roadshow and Undertow Media for the preview! I can't wait to see it again this weeekend!




Sometimes you just really want to see "good" battle it out "evil" and what better way to do that than by watching a superhero film? Luckily for us, tis' the season for some epic superhero movies.




Allow me to explain. A few years ago I was going through a horrendous bullying ordeal at an old workplace. There was one incident that left me particularly shaken. I took the rest of the day off as per my doctors advise. I remember walking around in a daze and somehow ending up at my local cinema. I guess because as a film buff, movies have always been my escape. It was around lunchtime so the cinema was quiet and only a handful of movies were showing. I decided to go see Fast and the Furious, an unlikely choice from me given that I have never seen any of the previous films but I knew that this one had a bit of Luke Evans in it so that was more than enough for me. It wasn't my usual genre - I used to just stick to what I know and like. But that day, to my surprise, I found myself absolutely enamored.






It was so therapeutic watching a "good guys" vs "bad guys" narrative. I still can't put it into words now, but sitting there in the dark and seeing 'good' and 'bad' clearly categorised in an action-packed few hours was such an integral part of my healing.



Because real life is a lot more complex. People are multidimensional, there is 'good' and 'bad' in everyone, and sometimes the road to victory is long and exhausting and when faced with challenging situations, it's so hard to keep the faith and trust that 'good' always wins. I needed to believe in the good. In the heroes. In the happy ending. In the good guys always emerging victorious no matter how hopeless the situation was.




And isn't that the power of film. It takes us to another world when we need it the most. It can reflect our society and values. It mirrors themes that we go through in real life. It teaches us so much about ourselves and the world we live in.




Shazam may be fiction, but it's core values are very much real. For one, it's about family and how family takes many different shapes and forms. It's about finding a place to belong, finding people who believe in you and will stand alongside you as you discover your true powers. It's about the hangups and trauma we carry from our childhoods and how we mustn't let hate fester until it consumes our every being.

Although the underlying themes are serious, the film combined humour and heart so perfectly that I think this might be my favourite DC film yet. The story follows 14-year-old foster kid Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who instantly turns into a superhero just by saying one magic word - Shazam! Zachary Levi plays Shazam so well - he appears to be a grown-up but really is just a kid on the inside. I loved that this film injected a much-needed fun aspect to a superhero film. You don't often see that these days. The jokes had the whole theatre laughing - an audience mixed with kids and adults at that. To be able to craft jokes that both audiences would appreciate is just proof at how sharp the script was for this film.




I also loved getting to know Billy's 'family' and was so excited to see Ian Chen (Evan from Fresh Off the Boat) in his first major film! Also absolutely brilliant in this film is Jack Dylan Grazer who plays Freddy, Shazam's 'manager'/bestfriend/hype man in the film. While the cast does an excellent job when they deliver the more light-hearted scenes of the film, I find that it was during the films more tender moments that they really showed their true prowess. Shazam is filled with those moments - light and dark, funny then heavy. Much like the good/bad concept I was talking about earlier.




We need films like Shazam especially at a time like this when there is too much hate, too much suffering, too much pain around. We need films to remind us of the good and how we can be good. We need to see ourselves in these films, in the heroes, and in the story. Shazam reminds us that there is a superhero in all of us and I think that's why this film is so essential in today's current climate. I can't find confirmation anywhere on the internet about this (and it's not on the full cast list) but I think Emma Gonzalez makes a quick cameo in this film. And if it is her, then what a serendipitous twist that would be towards the point I was making about Shazam being the film we all need to see right now.




Shazam opens on April 4 nationwide. Thanks Roadshow and Undertow Media for the preview! I can't wait to see it again this weeekend!



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