Shazam! (2019)

Elevator Pitch: Billy Batson, a teenager, who is in care and who has been searching for his mother for many years is selected by the wizard Shazam to be his representative and therefore by saying the word he will become a superhero. It is the wizard’s second attempt, the first who in adulthood is the evil Dr Sivana controls the seven deadly sins, grotesque monsters inhabiting the wizard’s lair. Billy and his friend Freddy, have fun with the Shazam’s superpowers, unaware that the evil doctor is stalking them in an attempt to wrest Shazam’s powers from him. And that he will not hesitate to put Billy’s fellow foster children at risk to obtain his ends.

Content: No sex or nudity, but parents should heed the ratings. The evil monsters are quite scary, and at times terminate people by biting their heads off. They could give small children nightmares. In this area Dr Sivana appears frequently with his glowing eye, and conjures the monsters to do his bidding. Billy, our hero is lost by his mother as a small child and is obsessed with finding her. His fellow foster children are a variously good hearted bunch as are the foster parents. Out on the street Shazam is mostly pretty brainless, using his powers to entertain. That is until everyone is put in danger.

A View: I thought that the selection of the young people by the wizard was pretty shaky, and the finale when it comes was far too long and its climax a bit weird, but maybe that was just me. Otherwise it was a fun outing, a light-hearted look at the whole superhero thing, welcome after the dreary “Avengers” offerings.

Here are a few more fun superhero outings: Hancock, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II, Kick Ass .