Shazam

(M) ★★★½

Director: David F. Sandberg.

Cast: Asher Angel, Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews, Djimon Hounsou. 

Static electricity pranks never get old.

The superhero movie market is clogged, so how do you find a new way to tell the age-old origin story? Shazam's answer is to give its modern-day story an '80s vibe that blends wacky kid antics and body-swap humour with some slightly darker moments, all the while making sure it doesn't take itself too seriously.

The big influence is, ah, Big, but other '80s action-comedies with a hint of mysticism and dashes of kiddie-unfriendly horror - Ghostbusters, Big Trouble In Little China, The Goonies, etc - are the touchstones that help make this feel different to 95 per cent of the superpowered stories out there.

The hero at the centre of it all is Shazam (Levi), the Superman-esque alter-ego of 14-year-old foster kid Billy Batson (Angel). Having unwillingly received his powers from a desperate wizard, Billy must adapt to his new skill set while being perceived as an adult.

As a foster kid, he's had to grow up fast, but he's about to learn that he's not a real grown-up yet. He's also about to learn that with great power comes something something... especially when the big bad Dr Sivana (Strong) shows up.

Compared to the rest of the DCEU, Shazam feels Marvel-esque, almost like a kiddie-friendly, less-overtly-meta version of Deadpool. It's funny, with a lot of laughs coming from poking fun at superhero tropes, but it also has a pretty consistent and enjoyable tone throughout. For the most part.

The biggest downside is the opening. The film starts incredibly awkwardly, failing to get its mix of all-ages goofiness and dark undertones right. In fact, it takes an inordinate amount of time for the tone to click into place - almost the entire first act - but when it finally does, it works.

A lot of credit goes to Levi for his grown-up-is-really-a-teen performance. It's a tough line to ride because Billy's character is a weird mix of old-beyond-his-years and adolescent overconfidence, but Levi nails it, helping to make Billy/Shazam a vulnerable and interesting figure. The dynamic between Billy/Shazam and his foster brother Freddy (Grazer) is also excellent, adding an extra level of sidekick angst and teenage inadequacy to the mix.

A lot of this stems from one of the film's many strong suits - its foster home setting. Sandberg and the writers Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke tap into this to find Shazam's major themes - feeling comfortable in your own skin, finding your place in the world, and the importance of family. The foster home factor, combined with the superhero story, means all of this gets explored in fascinating, unexpected and sometimes unconventional ways.

Another plus is Strong, who is an under-rated actor. His chops and the solid script mean Dr Sivana is more than a one-note scenery-chewer. Sivana's backstory, despite its awkward start, is far richer than a lot of supervillains, and it goes a long way towards making Sivana more interesting and the story more enjoyable.

Refreshingly, especially for a DCEU film, Shazam has an ending that isn't just a blizzard of CG. It has actual people in actual peril, and the finale is all the better for it.

All of these things make Shazam the second-best film in the DCEU (after Wonder Woman). This is damning it with faint praise because its also only the second genuinely good DCEU entry (after Wonder Woman). But Shazam is fun and funny, and while DC's long-term filmic plans look all-over-the-shop from the outside, this is at least a good film in its own right, without being too worried about where it fits in to the broader franchise.