Teenage foster child Billy Batson (Asher Angel) dreams of being reunited with his mother; being a superhero couldn't be further from his mind. But that's what he becomes when an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) chooses him to be his successor, endowing him with super strength, lightning fingers, invulnerability, and the power of flight. Unfortunately, Billy's new ability to turn into a muscle-bound hero (played by Zachary Levi) whenever he says 'Shazam!' coincides with the appearance of a supervillain, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), who was rejected by the wizard as a child, and who has spent the rest of his life looking for a way to seize the powers he was deemed unworthy of.

Shazam! is DC's attempt at a lighter, more humorous approach to the whole superhero schtick, something I wholeheartedly approve of, not being a big fan of the grim and gritty Batman/Superman films of recent years - but it isn't wholly successful. Billy discovering precisely what he is capable of in his hero state is reasonably fun, his amazing antics documented by his disabled foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), but when Dr. Sivana enters the picture, the film becomes little more than a mundane superhero flick, full of CGI-driven smackdowns, but little in the way of originality. At well over two hours long, it soon starts to feel more like a chore than a pleasure, especially with much of the intended comedy falling very flat.

As with the majority of superhero films, Shazam! is cleaning up at the box office despite its faults; I just hope they try a little harder with the script and the action for the inevitable sequel (which looks set to feature a talking caterpillar called Mega Mind).

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.