Shazam!

It's an interesting departure for Swedish horror director David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out), who proves he has more tricks up his sleeve than just things that go bump in the night.

Pretty bland... A little too light, fluffy, and negligible.

...[T]his film melds the unpretentious, dreamy joys of old-time comic books with the sly, rambunctious humor of Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon featurettes...

Charming, high-spirited and embraces its youthful, goofy side.

The stakes in Shazam! aren't quite world-endingly high but are resonant for their universality, and the film bounces well between kid-focused humor and suitably scary action sequences.

After lazy reliance on phoney gravitas and blundering with its first serious stab at levity with Aquaman, DC has found a comic torch-bearer of pure heart to illuminate the path of righteousness ahead.

Every member of the cast gives a strong performance, but Zachary Levi steals the show. His whimsical attitude, reckless personality, and rich facial expressions are guaranteed to entertain you for most of the runtime.

Overall, Shazam! is a fun movie with mature themes sprinkled in. It embraces the camp and humor this character needs to succeed on the big screen, even poking fun at previous DC heroes and films.

A really warm-hearted film, and I think it works so well because it's all about wish-fulfillment. ... It brought out so much nostalgia and joy.

While many of the plot turns are telegraphed in advance and Strong as the moustache-twirling villain is almost laughably over the top, Shazam! is a blissfully simplistic superhero yarn