Shazam! does get a lot of things right - for starters, it features a fourteen-year-old protagonist who's a foster kid; secondly, it has a lighter tone that is sure to get young comic-book fans aboard the DCEU. The film certainly benefits from the presence of a vibrant Zachary Levi (who plays the titular character), although his body language is visibly different from that of Asher Angel's. The disappointing bit is that a lot of the humour (some not exactly kid-friendly) was already disclosed in the trailers.

It's a welcome move on the part of the DCEU to embrace a lighter tone as it moves forward so that it can get the attention of young movie-goers and comic-book fanatics. The film starts rather preposterously - a young Billy Batson makes a fool of the local police in an attempt to retrieve details about his mom who he was separated from, at a local fair many years ago. While this story may sound grim and dull, Shazam! gives it a funny twist. Jack Dylan Grazer, Faith Herman, and Grace Fulton lend ample support as the other foster kids.

What makes the film several notches above the regular DCEU flick is its entertaining villain Dr. Sivana played by Mark Strong (it's a nice touch that the film starts off by detailing his character). Strong is a great actor and a great addition to the DCEU. The film also puts forth a simple yet message that sometimes getting to choose the family around you is not necessarily a bad thing. It even portrays foster families in good light, which was refreshing to see.

Maybe, it's the randomness of the events that lead to Billy getting his superpowers that add to the overall charm of the movie. Levi's portrayal of a superhero who's a teenager deep down and his brotherly bond with Freddy is what keeps the film afloat for the most part. There's quite a lot of self-deprecating humor (especially when Batson needs to deal with supervillains) and that works in Shazam!'s favor. The sluggish CGI 'Seven Sins' are a bit of a bore though. But since they're relegated to playing Mark Strong's baddie aides, that's okay.

There's a whole lot of Superman and Batman in Shazam! too, but in ways that you'd least expect. This almost leads you to believe that their universes will collide in the near future. Director David Sandberg also chooses to leave the name of the superhero ambiguous right till the end (in truly comical fashion), just so that 'Captain Marvel', the name now in use by Marvel doesn't pervade into this flick by any chance. The director also makes it a point to depict the protagonist as someone who makes mistakes, looks at the world from the perspective of an adolescent, and totally rids him of the usual superhero machismo that we've come to expect from these films.

Even when you consider all of that, the DCEU still have their work cut out for themselves, especially in terms of tonal balancing and getting the lead characters across right. This could be a decent first step for a franchise that is to yet fire on all cylinders.