Since beginning in 2013 with Man Of Steel, the DC Extended Universe (really, once they named it that, you knew they were screwed, right?) has had quite a bumpy ride, to say the last.
Man Of Steel was relatively above average, then Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was the definition of average, then Suicide Squad came around and the pattern was clear: the DCEU was floundering and was trending only downward.
However — Justice League excluded — DC and Warner Bros. have put together a nice little run with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and now, apparently, Shazam!, which is shaping up to be another hit for Marvel’s main rival.
When the announcement that the guy the NBC comedy Chuck (do you even remember Chuck?) was going to star in a movie about a childlike superhero named Shazam!, the general consensus seemed to be: “who asked for this?”. Plus, given the track record of the DCEU, expectations were essentially six-feet-under
But after they nailed Aquaman — also originally thought to be an impossible task — the thought began to creep into people’s minds that maybe they could pull off Shazam!. And if the early reviews are any indication, that’s exactly what they did, as Shazam! is apparently the best movie they’ve done yet.
“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,” said Brandon Davis of Comicbook.com.
Ash Crossan, a reporter for Entertainment Tonight, agreed that it’s their favorite DC movie yet, saying that “Shazam! was damn near PERFECT in my book. My FAVORITE DC movie (DCEU? What are we saying now?) by far. Pure of heart, incredibly funny, full of in-jokes and references. Brought me a childlike joy to watch. This role was MADE for @ZacharyLevi… & Jack & Asher & the entire cast.”
Davis and Crossan aren’t the only one to sign it’s praises, as seemingly everyone who attended the early screening gave Shazam! a glowing review.
Shazam! will be released in theaters in the United States on Friday, April 5, 2019.
