The first critics reactions to Shazam! are now out, and they are overwhelmingly positive. In fact, some critics are going so far as to call Shazam! the best film in the DCEU franchise!
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Well out of all the massive buzz that’s been building off this first wave of positive reactions to Shazam! there’s one voice that stands out among the rest: the film’s director, David F. Sandberg, who had the following to say on Instagram:
As you can see, Sandberg has definitely been paying attention to the first wave of Shazam! reactions that hit social media, after press screening event in LA this week. Sandberg is a proven social media comedian at this point, so it’s only fitting that his Instagram post ends with a funny little video of his finger hitting the refresh key on his keyboard, as the reactions continued to roll in. Hey, after all of his hard work bringing Shazam! to the screen (and all the scrutiny that follows a DCEU movie), he deserves to soak up all the praise he can get.
In his own breakdown of the film, Comicbook.com’s Brandon Davis shared the following:
“#Shazam is such a brilliant movie. It’s so tremendously fun, and incredibly scary at some points (thanks, David F. Sandberg!). It blows away every expectation and is my new favorite DC movie.
The cast of #Shazamโ โ is just genius. @ZacharyLevi, @AsherAngel , @smugorange, and Mark Strong are all just awesome. I had a blast watching all of them, and they play such different parts. Jack Dylan Glazer is an absolute scene stealer as Freddy Freeman.”
There was one element of Shazam! that Brandon highlighted that hasn’t really been discussed much – or revealed at all in the marketing: the film’s fear factor!
It is SCARY. Like scary in the ways we wanted #Venom to be. But then it switches to brilliant, side splitting fun. Itโs so impressive. #Shazam https://t.co/HtBbxpYQpJ
โ Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) March 8, 2019
It’s steadily been revealed in Shazam!‘s tie-in merchandise that the film’s villain, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) will be unleashing the demonic beings known as The Seven Deadly Sins, who will do battle with Shazam, as well as the “Shazam Family,” aka Billy Batson’s foster sibilings, given a portion of Shazam’s mystical powers. From what the above reaction is saying, David F. Sandberg could actually deliver a satisfying DCEU climatic battle – which is certainly a rarity!
The DC Movie Universe continues with Shazam on April 5th, Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7th, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, 2020, and The Batman on June 25th, 2021.
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