Why do they have Captain Marvel (Shazam) on this version acting like a silly man-child? He should be acting serious--like in the 1974 TV series.
I haven't seen the movie yet but I think they just messed this up having him being comical like that.
He doesn't act like this in the comics ,does he?
He does in the new 52 comics this particular movie is based on. It's a question of taste but I liked the new 52 version better than others so me personally I was happy to see that is the one that was adapted. Plus the movie is about growth and how Billy first realizes he has power and go berserk with them like a real kid would do but as the film progress he grasp the responsibility that comes with it.
shareThe New 52 version shows Billy as very cynical and a downright douchebag to the people around him. That is not the direction they went with this movie. The man-child aspect of Shazam! comes directly from its director.
There is inspiration drawn from the New 52 version though. But I see it mostly as changing from Black Adam to Sivana as the main villain.
OP, I just don’t understand your POV on this & why you’re not happy as opposed to Oliverbyrne who I understand completely.
You wanted him to be “serious?” you mean “Batman serious?”
For Pete’s sake WHY?
This is a movie based off a story about a boy who was turned into a superhero. Don’t know how the original comics were, I don’t care, TRUST ME this how any said teen would act being chosen for superpowers. He/she would be a silly man/woman child.
No problem with it at all & the movie wasn’t a total joke fest. It had more than it’s share of serious moments but I’m glad with the way they handled it which is really the only way it should’ve been handled when you think about it.
I agree for the most part. I wasn't crazy about it being tailored to kids the way it was but at the same time Zachary Levi did a great job. So did Mark Strong. Zack makes a good man-child and Mark makes a sinister villain. I think the film would've benefited by having more of those two. One silly character, one sinister character, back and forth. But instead we got a lot of kid-friendly material even outside of Zack's performance. And we really only got one sinister scene with Mark in the boardroom meeting.
Unfortunately Asher Angel didn't fit in well with what Zack was doing. Its like Asher was in a different movie that had nothing to do with superpowers.
Frankly, with the exception of the Power of Shazam! comic...they've NEVER gotten the Captain Marvel persona right. He's given the power of 6 gods and has the wisdom of Solomon. He should automatically be smarter and more collected when he changes.
shareThis. A thousand times, this.
Although, they (of course) got it "right" in the original CC Beck stories. For my money, the best version of the character, to date.
The only way I saw Shazam was for him to be a serious superhero (not Batman serious--but serious)---not acting silly like in this movie. I was waiting for a Shazam movie and from the trailers it looks to me that they messed this up.
I remember the 1974 Saturday morning series where they did a straight forward version of the characters. When I first saw that Zachary Levi was playing the part I knew some type of comical formula was gonna be in the mix--unfortunately.
My main exposure to Captain Marvel was also the Saturday morning show and one comic where he fights Superman. His persona never came off as a kid to me. Of course in the TV show Billy wasn’t a little kid himself and seemed about college aged. But in the comics does Captain Marvel have the same persona as Billy Batson or are they distinct?
shareI don't know. Never followed him in the comics.
I enjoyed the movie though.