The DC cinematic universe has had its ups and downs. From incredible villains, like Heath Ledger’s Joker, to questionable heroes like the justice league’s attempt at the Flash, it’s always been a hit or miss for the franchise. Unfortunately, Shazam was a miss.

    The film, like the latest justice league, attempted comedic undertones and an adolescent-friendly vibe, rather than the darker style DC is known for, and that did so well in The Dark Knight.

    On top of that, it tries to take place in Philadelphia. Views of the skyline were familiar to south jersey natives that frequent the city of brotherly love. Filming took place there too. However, a substantial portion of the film shines a bad light on the city. It showed a mugging and robbery within two minutes of each other.

     The villain was predictable. Inspired by jealousy and greed, he seeked out Shazam’s magical powers. Many parts of the film were predictable, the plot fit the same structure as any other. Villain is traumatized, goes out for revenge. Hero gets powers, doesn’t understand them. Hero struggles internally. Hero overcomes villain.

     Comedy in the film was poorly written. It felt like writers just thought, “what would an eleven year old think?” and follow that. But butt jokes and puberty only go so far. Yes, the main character is a teenager, but the audience is a lot wider than teenage boys. Comic lovers saw it fall short in action, story, and plain old connections to the series.

     At the end of the day, it wasn’t a waste of money to buy a ticket. It had  entertaining factors, and the acting wasn’t bad. Shazam was fun, but predictable. Maybe they will make a sequel with richer content, something that will make viewers want to hero up and say, “Shazam”!