DCEU, once run by Zach Schneider, had a big chance in 2016: there was the ambitious behemoth "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" before, and the "Suicide" by the geeks. Squad. If these two movies are recognized by the market, then Warner/DC will truly offer a movie universe that can compete with Disney/Marvel.
But the unfortunate reality is that the "Dawn of Justice" that wanted to reach the sky in one step was staggered, and the "Suicide Squad" that wanted to break the rules became a mess, and even directly led to the "Justice League" from script to editing to visual effects. A total collapse.
However, when DC movies began to move away from the harsh colors of Zach Schneider, the diversified charm of DC comics finally began to appear, and it began to open a gap with the unchanging MCU. The confidence that "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman" fell from the sky burst out from the inside out, and the following "Thunder Shazam" and "Joker" finally expanded the possibilities of superhero movies-the main film The function is no longer to fight off powerful enemies and save the earth, but to dig deeper into the image of superheroes.
Thirty years after the birth of Tim Burton's "Batman", the superheroes that originated from comics have almost become synonymous with geek culture, but they have never set their sights on the earliest audiences, the children. . And the first superhero movie to achieve this goal did not come from Disney and MCU, where "cartoons are not like cartoons and real people", but from the dark DC.
"Thunder Shazan" and other new DC movies, although they can't match the magnificent MCU first-line works, at least they have begun to catch up in terms of visual effects and entertainment concepts. As far as "Thunder Shazan" is concerned, although the plot is simple, the action scenes are few and not bright enough, the CG monster characters are as boring as ever, but the $90 million investment scale brings fun to the "Spiderman" with more than $150 million : The Return of Heroes, "Ant-Man 2" and "Captain Marvel" can't match.
"Thunder Shazan" is the first DCEU film produced by Warner's new line company. What’s interesting is that as a film company focusing on adult content, Xinxian brings a completely juvenile superhero movie—not so much superhero fighting each other, it’s more of "Dragon Fist Kid". Stream, self-growth and comedy variant of fighting bullying. As the disciple of "Aquaman" director Wen Ziren, director David F. Sandberg also started from horror movies. Although the anticlimax of "After the Lights" and "Annabel 2" has not been corrected, the director's fusion of horror elements and superhero themes is surprising.
Obviously, even though he was responsible for a comedy film aimed at teenagers and family audiences, David F. Sandberg, like Wen Ziren, did not forget to show his love for his old profession.
One point worthy of praise is the costume design of "Thunder Shazan". Leah Butler, who participated in the production of many horror films, successfully turned the exaggerated Roman style in the comics into a less unconventional sweater cloak. After the Shazam family debuted, they can also show their differentiated personalities and styles. Although the use of large color blocks is a bit simple and rude, considering the deliberately designed meta-cultural features in the movie, the ending egg features the "Thunder Shazam" of the meditation mite, which ensures that it is friendly to ordinary audiences and is also very good. Inherited the friendly attitude of the DCEU series towards comics and comics fans.
But what really makes "Thunder Shazam" narratively successful is the role relationship-this is inseparable from the fun and natural performances of actors and actresses, especially the third time Mark Sturt starred in the superhero movie villain. Lang-A characteristic of modern superhero movies is the realization that superheroes and villains are not the personification of special abilities, but have a complicated relationship with abilities. "Thunder Shazam" puts modern teenagers in the dilemma of ability and identity, and the strategy adopted by Sam Remy in "Spider-Man 2" in the early years is much the same. And just last year, "Deadpool 2" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" also paid attention to the self-awareness of superheroes. The root of this can even be traced back to Richard Downer's "Superman 2".
The joyous atmosphere of "Aquaman" and "Thunder Shazan" proves that DC movies (made by horror film directors) can also be full of enthusiasm and explosiveness. Compared with the "giant babies" who are rushing to and fro by the MCU, it is obviously more reasonable to let Shazam, who is a brother and a young man, bear the troubles of growing up.
As the production costs of top blockbuster movies continue to rise, big production companies have all unanimously begun to explore new possibilities in the middle scale, such as "Deadpool", "New Mutants", "Bumblebee", and "Thundershazan". This kind of film obviously bears much less pressure on returning to the original, and it has more courage to explore new ways of playing.
"Thunder Shazan" is still a long way from other DCEUs and first-line MCU movies, and even compared with "Aquaman" at the end of last year, it is significantly inferior in imagination. But considering the cost of less than half, the purpose and meaning of "Thunder Shazam" is more straightforward: there is no big ambition, just for small adventures.
As a superhero origin movie, this Captain Marvel is far better than the other Captain Marvel in almost every aspect.
View more about Shazam! reviews
