
Shazam!
David F. Sandberg grounds this DC adventure in pure Amblin-esque warmth. When street-smart foster kid Billy Batson inherits ancient magical authority, his transformation into an adult champion becomes an earnest exploration of found family and juvenile wish fulfillment. Zachary Levi plays the alter ego with infectious goofiness, while Sandberg expertly offsets the bright slapstick with genuinely eerie creature horror courtesy of the Seven Deadly Sins. The film nails the trick of hiding profound childhood trauma beneath candy-coated pop fantasy. Viewers drawn to the juvenile cheekiness, god-tier lightning duels, and emotional foster parenting arcs in Thor: Love and Thunder will find an immediate kindred spirit here.









