PRESENTS |
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BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM |
Following a surprising blockbuster success story of the Aquaman sequel which was perceived as a huge improvement on the middling first instalment. The second film of the third chapter of the DC Extended Universe would serve as an introduction of a character who had received prominent feature in the previous iteration of the DC Universe. As we would see the origin story for the character of Billy Batson (Finn Wolfhard) and his transition into the superhero Shazam. We would start however not with an origin of Billy Batson, but instead in a big shift from many movies which start with a heroes origin. Our opening scenes would instead serve to introduce Dr. Thadeus Sivana (Christopher Eccleston). Revealed to be afflicted with a crippling genetic condition which would not only claim his life but potentially his families later on. Dr. Sivana who was once one of sciences finest minds in desperation would search the world for any kind of a cure. Shown to be a brilliant mind but someone who from a young age had battled being perceived as a weak. Dr. Sivana was someone who never quite truly felt like he was good enough. Turning his back on Science and medicine, Dr. Sivana would in an effort to save himself and his family begin exploring magic and mysticism. This would see him begin to investigate the story of Black Adam. Described as a former slave who was given the power of the gods when he truly needed them in order to save his people. Dr. Sivana became obsessed with this legend as he studied this phenomena, Sivana would hear stories of a wizard appearing before others in an attempt to pass on his powers. Determined that Black Adam was his means to find a cure and save him and his family. Dr. Sivana would begin using his fast resources to travel the world as he hunted for the tomb of Black Adam. This would take him to Baghdad where he believed the tomb was held and he would fund a private expedition and dig in an effort to locate Black Adam's tomb. On locating the tomb however Sivana would find himself faced with a new issue. As there was multiple inscriptions on how to open the tomb but none were in a language which Sivana could understand or translate. Lashing out and cursing the gods, Sivana's words would come back to bite him as a freak storm would trigger almost like a wrath of the gods. These freak storm like events would see many of Sivana's hired help killed while a bolt of lightning struck Sivana through the eye. This however would allow Sivana to read and understand magic including the language on Black Adam's tomb. Specifically that Black Adam would only rise when a true challenger to him would be found. However while his mission to awaken Black Adam may not have proven successful, Sivana's new gifts would afford him with an opportunity to seek out others who may have the power to save him. We would then transition to the origin story of Billy Batson starting by meeting his parents Marilyn Batson (Riki Lindhome) and Sinclair Batson (Jim Cummings). While Marilyn was shown to be an idealistic young woman who wanted nothing more than to provide the best for her son Billy. Sinclair was shown to be a selfish and greedy individual who would do anything in order to make quick money. This included Sinclair accepting a job for Thadeus Sivana and dragging Marilyn with him. His plan however would be to rip off and rob the Doctor and his plan would prove successful until the freak storm ran the couple off the road killing them instantly and leaving a young Billy as an orphan. Spending a lot of time in care home after care home. Billy was sadly very much a project of the system and someone who constantly would be in trouble as he was an angry young man who never processed his grief. Despite this anger, Billy deep down was a good kid who always looked to do the right thing. However he was shown to frequently be on the run as he looked to escape the homes. This would be until he was taken in by Rosa (Vanessa Rubio) and Victor (Rodrigo Santoro) Vasquez. A caring and loving couple who wanted to provide some love and stability to Billy as they had many others. Billy at first would be resistant to this when he'd be introduced to the other children that the Vasquez family had taken in. We'd start with the eldest Mary Broomfield (Maya Hawke), a student looking to start the next chapter of her life at university. Mary in many ways was shown to be an attentive caretaker who would prove to be a responsible and wise figure. Along with Mary would be Freddy Freeman (Jaeden Martell) with whom Billy would form a close bond with. A fellow troublemaker and very much a class clown. Freddy was shown to be a boisterous and thrill seeking individual at the times at the cost of his own welfare. Following Freddy would be the youngest child Darla Dudley (Priah Ferguson) who was very much a sweet and affectionate character who was always there for the rest of her siblings with her positive approach. The remaining two siblings would be Pedro Pena (Nathan Arenas), a shy and quiet individual despite his large stature and Eugene Choi (Nathaniel Oh) who was a smart and tech savvy young man. Despite his hesitancy Billy would form close bonds with all the other siblings but he still couldn't stop himself from his worser instincts and would often flee the home to wonder through the night and travel on the trains. This would be until one fateful night when the train would flash lights of green and come to a halt. Stepping off the train and out into a dark underground throne. Billy Batson would be met by a mysterious individual who introduced himself to Billy only as The Wizard (Tony Shalhoub). Introducing his full name as Mamaragan, The wizard would introduce Billy to the Rock of eternity as he revealed that this was once where the circle of eternity was based before they were all struck down by Black Adam. Now the sole survivor of this collective, The Wizard would reveal that he had been heavily weakened and his mortal form was perishing. This is why he needs a champion and believes Billy to be worthy. While at first he may have been dubious, Billy would see this as a chance to make his mother proud and do some good leading to him accepting the offer. This in turn would see the Wizard pass on his powers to Billy before his mortal form would disappear. In turn the Wizard would appear to Billy as a spirit and protector of the Rock of Eternity who would serve to mentor Billy and his new powers when he uttered the word Shazam. After the Wizard would tell him of his history and his purpose, Billy would return home to the Vasquez family. Here Billy was confronted by a concerned Rosa who had been calling the police while Victor had been out searching for him. After a heart felt apology, Billy would be forgiven and welcomed into the home. While Billy however seemed to grow closer with his family. A stark contrast would be Dr. Sivana's journey. Seemingly growing stronger and more capable of mystic arts himself, Sivana had found himself a new mentor and ally in his journey. This would be an alien by the name of Mister Mind (Peter Weller). The evil space worm similar to Sivana on his own would be lacking but together they had a plan to gain power. This would see Mind enter the minds of people who had encountered the wizard at the rock of eternity. In doing so they would find the keys to the door or the symbols which would allow them to enter but their journey would see them confronted by the Wizard. Despite his mortal form being gone, the Wizard still had many gifts and would banish the pair to another realm. Unfortunately for the Wizard in this rash decision, he would put Dr. Sivana before the Seven Deadly Sins. The ancient evil spirits would play on Sivana and his desperation and insecurities. This would lead to Sivana agreeing to become their champion as they looked to defeat the Wizard's Champion in an effort to become free. While Sivana would accept this offer we'd see his priorities become jaded as he went from saving himself and his family to instead defeating the Wizard's champion. Billy meanwhile would begin to train and get used to his abilities. Showing his trust in Freddy, Billy would confide in Freddy and show him his abilities and capabilities which Freddy thought was fantastic. Billy soon would begin to help out around the city as a local hero but it wouldn't be long for him to get his very first opponent. This would be a man known as James Barr/Bullet Man (Austin Amelio) who was shown to be a desperate and misguided former police detective who stole some experimental technology which made him move and have the power of a bullet. During his first conflict with Bullet Man who was shown to be a bank robber, Billy in his hero guise would see the good in Barr and attempt to talk him round. While Barr at first would be resistant to this over the course of their battle, he would come to see the danger he had put others in the bank. Wanting the money to change his life but acknowledging this is not the way to do it. Barr would surrender to Billy and the police. His exploits in this would see Billy's heroism begin to be more noted as social influencer Desiree Anderson (Coco Jones) would begin to report on his exploits. Showing his naivety behind the heroic figure, Billy would allow Desiree to continue profiling him which would draw the attention of police detective Muscles McGinnis (Colm Meaney). The former detective partner of Barr, Muscles was not a fan of superheroes or those with enhancements believing them to be in the way of good police work and he would personally want to see to it that this hero was stopped. One consequence of Billy's hero growing notoriety was that his exploits would draw the attention of Sivana. Recognizing the powers of this hero now being called Shazam as the capabilities of the Wizard's champion. In turn Sivana would arrive in Fawcett City fully intent of bringing an end to the Wizard's champion. It wouldn't be hard for Sivana to locate Billy either as thanks to his immaturity, Billy would let the fame go to his head a little and have Desiree profile his many acts of heroism. With Mister Mind keeping watch of the socials, Sivana would manage to find Billy who was being referred to as Shazam. It would be in this battle that Billy was humbled and brought back to reality as in Sivana he found himself an opponent who he couldn't just rely on his powers with. Quickly overwhelmed Billy would only be rescued by the efforts of the Wizard who pulled him to the rock of eternity. Mulling that he should not have trusted a child to do this on his own. Billy would then face the realization that before when the Wizard faced a great threat he wasn't alone either and so Billy recognized that he needed help. With Sivana threatening Fawcett City until the hero appeared once more, Billy in his hero form would contact Freddy before he'd appear before his siblings. Billy would bring them to the rock of eternity and while the wizard may have had some misgivings he would agree to help as Billy asked his family for help. In a true bonding moment we'd see the siblings one by one agree. With that the wizard would complete a process in which all the family would be outfitted by his powers. It would then be Freddy who asked about names for the group and while Billy was forced to go with the name of Shazam, Freddy would become the first ever Captain Marvel. Mary meanwhile would don the name Mary Marvel while Darla become Lady Shazam. Pedro would become Lieutenant Marvel while lastly Eugene would become the hero known as Captain Thunder. Quickly we would also see each of the siblings would use their own grasp of their powers with Darla being the fastest and Pedro being the strongest while Eugene was the fastest to pick up the electrical abilities. Returning to a ravaged Fawcett city, the Shazam family would quickly prove themselves to be worthy heroes as they rescued many would be victims of Sivana. This included Muscles McGinnis and James Barr which caused McGinnis to change his mind on the heroes. Releasing Barr and having him use his gifts for good to save others, McGinnis and the police force focused on vacating the city while the Shazam family went to Sivana. Having completely lost his way and forsaken his earlier goals. Sivana now relished the chance to combat the wizard's champions as he was corrupted by the sins. In the ensuing battle we would see Sivana was truly as strong as the shazam family. As the battle wore on however we'd see Billy mature into a leadership role and while Freddy managed to distract Sivana, Mary was the first one to note that while they all coexisted and worked together. There was no harmony inside Sivana and his symbiotic relationship with the sins. Recognizing that this could be preyed upon, Billy and the family would begin to exploit the characteristics of the sins. This would cloud Sivana's mind and judgement as the sins would all begin to fight among one another and allow the Wizard to cast a spell breaking the chain of command between Sivana and the sins. His powers stripped, Sivana would collapse from his weakened state as Fawcett City was saved. With Sivana put in a comatose state while doctors looked to treat him for his condition. Desiree Anderson would begin to profile the superhero family as a whole. This mission would firmly bring Billy and his siblings together as they all banded together to enter this new stage of their lives. While they may not have known about their children's secrets, Rosa and Victor were very happy to see their kids all bonded and Billy now fitting into the family. As the movie would begin to wrap up we would see Mister Mind having escaped the encounter with the Shazam family plotting his next move while the Wizard would begin to mentor Eugene who he saw as a worthy student. Freddy meanwhile would show himself to be very excited to become a hero as he constantly was out on the streets as Captain Marvel. Mary meanwhile in a tease for things to come would begin to pack as she readied herself for an exciting next step in her life as she looked to head to university. This would bring the film to an end but before the credits ended, we wold go back to the tomb of Black Adam where some noticeable cracks would begin to appear! |
CAST Billy Batson - Played by Finn Wolfhard Shazam - Played by Kellan Lutz Mary Broomfield - Played by Maya Hawke Mary Marvel - Played by Anya Chalotra Wizard - Played by Tony Shalhoub Freddy Freeman - Played by Jaeden Martell Captain Marvel - Played by Derek Theeler Thadeus Sivana/Doctor Sivana - Played by Christopher Eccleston Darla Dudley - Played by Priah Ferguson Lady Shazam - Played by Jessica Parker Kennedy Eugene Choi - Played by Nathaniel Oh Captain Thunder - Played by Elvis Han Pedro Pena - Played by Nathan Arenas Lieutenant Marvel - Played by Daren Criss Rosa Vasquez - Played by Vanessa Rubio Victor Vasquez - Played by Rodrigo Santoro Muscles McGinnis - Played by Colm Meaney Desiree Anderson - Played by Coco Jones Marilyn Batson - Played by Riki Lindhome Sinclair Batson - Played by Jim Cummings James Barr/Bullet Man - Played by Austin Amelio Mr Mind - Played by Peter Weller |
