Face-Off: Aquaman vs. Shazam!

Last Updated on October 12, 2021

Nice to see you again, fans of the cinema! This is the Face-Off, where two movies enter and both movies leave, but one leaves in a slightly better light. Yes, here we take two competitors and compare their key elements and see who comes out the champion. It's a fierce competition that results in blood, tears, and online arguments, but the more brutal the battle, the sweeter the victory.

Last week saw the release of the latest superhero blockbuster, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, which means everyone is back in the costumed hero spirit after not being in it for, I don't know, a week? But not only is this a time for one of Marvel's greats to shine, but today marks one more week before fans can go out and buy their own copy of one of this year's other superhero triumphs, SHAZAM! (now available on Digital). This is one of the best efforts ever from DC and came on the heels after another recent release from the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — AQUAMAN. The movie that took the once-mocked aquatic hero and delivered a movie that became the highest-grossing earner of any DC movie ever, AQUAMAN quickly turned heads for its wild success as much as it did its visual effects. Both great movies for very different reasons, we will now take a look back at solo superhero efforts that won over critics and the box office…just not both at the same time. 

Which solo effort is the most heroic? Which did a better job of taking a hero some have scoffed at and turning them into a household name? Scroll on down and find out!

The Ensemble

Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Amber Heard as Mera
Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master
Nicole Kidman as Atlanna
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane/Black Manta
Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry
Willem Dafoe as Vulko
Dolph Lundgren as Nereus
Ludi Lin as Murk
with Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin
and Djimon Hounsou as Fisherman King Ricou

Zachary Levi  as Billy Batson/Shazam
Asher Angel as Billy Batson
Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
Grace Fulton as Mary
Ian Chen as Eugene
Jovan Armand as Pedro
Faithe Herman as Darla
Marta Milans as Rosa
Cooper Andrews as Victor
Adam Brody as Super Freddy
Meagan Good as Super Darla
Ross Butler as Super Eugene
Michelle Borth as Super Mary
D.J. Cotrona as Super Pedro
with Djimon Hounsou as Wizard Shazam

 

Direction

I can think of few directors who have covered the same expanse of success the same way James Wan has (Spielberg comes to mind, for one). Starting out with low-budget horror movies like SAW, the man has put in his time, worked his way up with impressive horror outings like THE CONJURING and INSIDIOUS, and then made a seamless leap into big-budget affair like FURIOUS 7, then getting an even bigger shot with AQUAMAN. What makes his work so impressive here is that while he has hardly had the chance to play with as many tools, he operates like a filmmaker who has been around this block dozens of times, knowing exactly how a movie with this level of absurdity and spectacle needs to be framed and presented so we get the full blast of, well, everything. In another director's hands this movie could've looked clunky, cluttered and all-around unappealing, but he delivers numerous sequences and shots that look ripped straight from a comic book splash panel, whether it's Arthur leaping on top of a submarine with the sunset in the background, or him and Mera diving beneath the surface, the Trench creatures gathering in mass on their tail in a continuous shot. So much of how he presents the world of Atlantis and the creatures and characters within are breathtaking, enough to make you ignore the faults with the script and character work. He sweeps you into this world, and during what could be basic fight scenes on land he dials up to 11 for a colorful, exhilarating whirlwind of blockbuster madness, which involves framing his actors in a way that makes them look as impressive as the rest of the incredible effects. I get the sense he approached this movie the same way Taika Waititi did THOR: RAGNAROK: This movie involves god-like beings, alien worlds, and talking creatures, so why hold back? It may not be my favorite movie of his, but here is where Wan, perhaps more than on any other project, shows his vision and ingenuity as a director, who has now proven he can tackle low-key horror just as well as bonkers action with sea-people.

Like Wan, David F. Sandberg came from the world of low-budget horror, making a name for himself with an eerie short film that formed the basis for his movie LIGHTS OUT (produced by Wan), and taking a bigger project, ANNABELLE: CREATION (also produced by Wan) all before being handed the reins to his biggest project to date. Here, he also proves his ability to take on projects outside of the world of horror, moving from violence and terror to tender emotion and pitch-perfect comedy. While he doesn't get a chance to showcase the same visual chops as Wan did, his delicate touch put the focus on Billy, Freddy, and their family, and with inspiration from 80s movies like BIG, he managed to get the same level of thrilling excitement out of this lower-key outing as you would find in any other more expensive counterpart, mostly thanks to the performances he gets from his cast. At the core of Gayden's script is a story that recalls the type of wish-fulfillment stories we don't get enough of anymore, on par with the likes of HARRY POTTER, THE NEVERENDING STORY and the first SUPERMAN. Sandberg nails the tone between something that, like that earliest entries in the POTTER series, bounces between moments that are exciting, hilarious, scary and heartwarming, sometimes meshing it all together, like during the final moments when the hero(es) take on Sivana and the Seven Sins. While I think Wan's work demonstrates a more singular, impressive vision, Sandberg should not be counted out and here he proves he's ready for even bigger projects, and I have full faith that with a bigger budget he could take these characters to some dizzying heights, but keep the heart and soul that make them great firmly intact.

Script

Picking up right after JUSTICE LEAGUE left off, AQUAMAN centers on Arthur Curry as he begins to accept his place as both an Atlantean and a human, having to face his past and fight off his half-brother in order to save the surface world. That story from Geoff Johns, Wan and writer Will Beall is straight-forward enough and a solid intro to the character LEAGUE could not provide, but the actual script from Beall and writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick seemingly spends about 20 minutes tackling the strongest elements of the story, and the other 2 hours going through an ocean of exposition and world-building, to the point where the sheer amount of it as bold and brazen as the visual effects. The movie is filled with colorful characters, but so many of them, like Mera, Vulko, and Atlanna spend almost all of their time simply laying out the history of the world and the dangers presented by King Orm that they have no room to shine as their own characters. While Arthur is completely out of his depth, having no clue what this other homeworld of his is all about, these characters drag him from area to area only to explain to him histories and functions of whatever he's around. You know it gets bad when several minutes (and likely millions of dollars in effects shots) are spent explaining the function of the bridge into Atlantis (even the customs department!) for what reason I still don't know. So that during an action scene we know that the big canons on top are dangerous? The endless exposition aside, a lot of which is interrupted by explosions that get things going again, there's just not a lot under the surface of this movie that explores the characters as well as it does the world, which though I get is necessary for a movie like this, it can't help but rob the movie of something more engaging on a character level. The bright side? With all this out of the way, the next movie can actually get into the meat of the characters and not worry about the diplomacy of water bridges.

While the script for AQUAMAN is loaded to the gills with all sorts of business, the script for SHAZAM! from Henry Gayden (story credit for him and Darren Lemke) is whittled to the bare essentials for a fun, breezy story that doesn't push any boundaries, but gets a ton of mileage out of the cast and the premise. Billy Batson is a teenager who has spent most of his life bouncing from foster home to foster home, rejecting the concept of family and in search of his real mom. After being granted immense powers by the wizard Shazam, Billy can say the name and transform into a buff, handsome hero and harness every power under the sun (except laser eyes…and telepathy). But the real journey lies in finding his true strength, which comes from learning to accept his new family and realize he doesn't have to go through this hero game, or life in general, alone. While there are plenty of characters that help flesh this out the script hones in on the dynamic between Billy and Freddy, and though they have a ton of fun there's a clear personality difference that drives the emotional core of the story. Simply put, while AQUAMAN exhaustively sets up the world, Gayden's script focuses on the characters, which makes for a more engaging, rewarding story.

Best Bits & Lines

Bits: 

Finding Love

Atlanna Fights Back

Aquaman Comes Aboard

Orm's Council Attacked

Wave Attack

Arriving in Atlantis

Atlantis' History

Aquaman v. Water Soldiers

Octopus Drums!

Orm v. Aquaman

Chase Through Atlantis

Airplane Jump

Manta Montage!

Fisherman King

Aquaman and Mera's Day Out

Aquaman v. Manta/Mera v. Soliders

Trench

Aquaman and the Karathen

Aquaman's New Look

Underwater Battle!

Aquaman v. Orm 2

Reunited

 

Lines:

Aquaman: “I'm no leader. I came because I have no choice. I came to save my home, and the people that I love.”

—–

Aquaman: “Permission to come aboard?”

—–

Mera: “We need water. You're the closest source.”
[uses the water on device]
Aquaman: “Show-off. I could've just peed on it.”

—–

Aquaman: “My father was a lighthouse keeper. My mother was a queen. They were never meant to meet. But their love saved the world. They made me what I am: a son of the land, a king of the seas. I am the protector of the deep. I am… Aquaman.”

—–

Cargo: “She jumped! She didn't have a parachute!”
Aquaman: “Redheads! You gotta love 'em.”

—–

Aquaman: “Call it whatever you want. I call it an ass-whuppin'.”

—–

Mera: “The plan WAS to get the Trident first, then challenge Orm for the throne!”
Aquaman: “So we did things out of order, shit happens!”

—–

Aquaman: “Well, what could be greater than a king?”
Atlanna: “A hero.”

—–

Manta: “I plunder the seas, and you're the Aquaman. We were bound to meet at some point!”
Aquaman: “Let's not make it a habit.”

—–

Mera: “You do your best thinking when you're not thinking at all.”
Aquaman: “That makes no sense.”

—–

Bits:

Sivana and the Wizard

Car Crash

Billy's Prank

Meet the Family

Discovering the Rock of Eternity

Sivana's New Powers

Billy Fights Back

Billy Made Champion

First Power Test

First Robbery

Shoot Him Again!

Sivana's Revenge

Second Power Test

Saving Mary

Bus Catch/Move Dog!

Sivana vs. Shazam

Mall Fight!

Flight!

Billy's Mom

Back in the Kingdom

Carnival Showdown

The Super Family

Sivana v. Shazam 2

Lunch Time with Shazam and Superman

 

Lines:

Billy/Shazam: “Shazam!”

—–

Sivana: “Only I have the power to unleash…”
Shazam: “Wait, WHAT?”
Sivana: “…you will beg for mercy…”
Shazam: “Are you making some, like, big, evil-guy speech right now or somethin'? You're like a mile away from me, and there's traffic and cars and stuff! All I see is mouth-movin'!”

—–

Shazam: “I'd like to purchase some of your finest beer please.”

—–

Freddy: “Dude, just messing around! You look at me and you're like, “Why so dark? You're a disabled foster kid, you got it all!”

—–

Shazam: “Sorry about your window… but you're welcome for not getting robbed!”  [to woman walking by] Oh hey, wassup? I'm a superhero!”

—–

Freddy: “His name is Thunder Crack…”
Shazam: “Dude that sounds like a butt thing.”

—–

Shazam: “Say my name!”
Family: “BILLY!”
Shazam: “No, no! Not my name, the name I said to transform into this guy!”
The Family: “SHAZAM!”

—–

Freddy: “Shoot him again!”
Shazam: “Oh yeah yeah yeah here here, both of you. Go to town!”

—–

Batman Toy: “I'm Batman!”
Shazam: [throwing toy] “Get em' Batman!”

—–

Freddy: “Hey, guys, can you shoot him in the face?”
Shazam: “Yeah, yeah, shoot me in the face!… Wait, what?”

—–

Sivana: “You seek a pure soul, old man. But no one is worthy.”

—–

Wizard: “Lay your hands on my staff.”
Billy: “Gross”

—–

Shazam: “Stupid adult hands!”

—–

Shazam: [to ROCKY theme tempo] “Hands…lighting with my hands…lighting with my hands!”

—–

Super Eugene: “Hadouken!”

—–

Freddy: “What're your superpowers?”
Shazam: “Superpowers? Dude, I don't even know how to pee in this thing!”

—–

Shazam: “Whatever, kid! I do what I want! And I'm like, mid-20s probably! Maybe even, like, 30.”

—–

Billy: “If a superhero can't save his family, he's not much of a hero.”
Freddy: “That was a decent catchphrase.”

—–

 

The Hero

Introduced in JUSTICE LEAGUE, audiences got to see the cool, laid back, biker dude version of Aquaman that's wildly different from the clean-cut version who suffered mockery and ridicule for decades. In a total reinvention, Momoa was the perfect man to bring the grungy, bearded, somewhat aggressive and probably smelly hero to the screen. The star seems right at home in the role, stealing the scenes with his roguish glances at the camera, his wild intensity in the action and his cool sense of humor. Even dealing with a cluttered script the character does have an arc to pinpoint, refusing to accept the mantle as king and hating the world of Atlantis after he thought they killed his mother. Where I leave the movie with a sense of wanting is that several key aspects of his development — mainly him growing to love both Mera and the world of Atlantis — feel unearned as the story drags him from set piece to set piece. He gets taken somewhere, gets explained how everything works, he reacts to the action, and then often gets told by Mera how to put feelings into context. All of the big developments don't seem hinged on his own choices and coming to terms with who he is and who he needs to become. One good scene that alleviates this is the scene between him and the Karathan, and I feel that succeeds because he's on his own, and he finally gets to speak his heart and mind. What I'm getting at is that so much of the movie has him paired up with someone and reacting to big action that it never leaves time for him to discover things on his own and make his developments seem natural to him, robbing both Momoa and the character of some chances to grow in meaningful, resounding ways. Still, Momoa is a star and when he gets to let loose he's a powerful force on screen.

What's excellent about the character of Billy Batson and his heroic alter ego Shazam, and perhaps the movie's best strength, is how between both his teen form and his hero form we get a complete picture of who he is and where the story takes him as a character. At first, he's a rebellious teen with a broken heart and who only wants one thing in life — to find his mom. This builds a wall in him that keeps every one else away, which is readily apparent early on based on how he acts around his new family. When he gets powers, this is where the movie uses the character to turn the movie one of the ultimate origin stories in the genre, showing how he first uses his powers (to show off and get famous, as we all would), and having to learn through trial and error at his own hands how poorly his actions affect everyone around him. Learning to be the hero means not learning how to use his powers, but how to tear down those walls and open himself up to his new family, becoming even stronger as a result. Not only is this arc moving, fully formed, and could stand on its own regardless of if there are more movies or not, but the performances from both Asher Angel and Zachary Levi are total knockouts. Asher is compassionate and has his own charm as the young Batson, and Levi is perfection as the teen in a hero's body, conveying that childish naivety and immaturity that makes the character both endearing and hilarious. Across his work, you get something effortlessly funny but also a performance that reflects the growth of the character from start to finish. Levi has always had the potential to be an excellent leading man and superstar, and here he gets the best chance yet to prove it.

Praise & Money

Praise:

Rotten Tomatoes: 65% (75% Audience)
IMDb: 7.1
Metacritic: 55 (7.0 Audience)

Money:

$335 million domestic ($1.147 billion global)

Praise:

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (85% Audience)
IMDb: 7.3
Metacritic: 70 (7.6 Audience)

Money:

$140 million domestic ($364 million global)

The Villain

Villains can be a tricky aspect of the superhero movie to nail. Every time you have someone like Zod, brought to life by a committed Michael Shannon, you get a Steppenwolf, brought to life by visual effects artists who clearly ran out of money. In the case of AQUAMAN, we get Orm, the slick-haired, ultra-serious King of Atlantis who wants to wage war with the surface world for polluting the ocean. Between his understandable motivations and Wilson getting to chew some scenery while wearing a very comic book-accurate costume, Orm is perhaps one of the strongest villains in the DC movie canon. He's very steadfast in this movie, which may clash with some people who may have wanted him to cut loose now and again, but that approach works here. He's a man jaded by the lingering shadow of his brother, has a plan that actually makes a bit of sense, and can be ruthless when pushed. Better yet, they didn't kill him at the end, which means for any sequel we could see him start to loosen up a bit as he grows madder and madder, meaning this could be AQUAMAN's answer to Loki going forward.

Mark Strong has given a lot of himself to franchises in the Warner Bros. department, playing the baddie in the first SHERLOCK HOLMES movie with Robert Downey Jr., leaping into some motion capture for Sinestro (pre-yellow) for GREEN LANTERN, and is back once again as Thaddeus Sivana here. He does a fine job in the role and is at ease and confident, and his standing makes for a nice juxtaposition against Shazam. While the hero is young, naive and has no idea the concept of his powers, Sivana is the serious, tested, jaded villain who acts as an imposing threat. His motivations are standard for the genre (all the power!), and like Orm this seems to be much of a Phase 1 villain, in that in keeping him alive and bringing him back for more we will see more dimension to him, and Strong will get to flesh him out more than he did here. Strong is always reliable, but he doesn't have quite the presence as Wilson, and as a crafted villain leaves more to be desired.

Musical Mastery

Much like the movie itself, the score from Rupert Gregson-Williams is the exact opposite of subtle, operating mostly at 11 with big booming orchestrations to emphasize the movie's abundance of, well, everything. Emotional moments are met with sweeping, romantic pieces, as are the rip-roaring action scenes and moments of inspiration and awe. The score takes advantage of a current theme in modern movie music of combining old school orchestrations with digital, synth sounds, and Gregson-Williams weaves them together to mostly epic, bombastic effect. Like MAN OF STEEL and WONDER WOMAN, the movie music does a solid job giving Aquaman his own sound, and even a distinct theme or two, like that undeniably badass guitar riff that comes with Aquaman giving a bad guy a “guess what's about to happen to you” look. Beyond that, there's a noticeable, recurring theme throughout the bigger moments where Gregson-Williams throws in a synth, wind-up cue that meshes with high points with certain tracks and moments like “Swimming Lessons” when Arthur discovers his powers as a kid, and “Suited and Booted” when he emerges in his new duds. It's a loud, energetic score, which is very appropriate for a movie that is so…much. *Side note* There's even a dope horror track for the Trench realm from James Wan mainstay, Joseph Bishara. 

While everyone will praise the story, acting, and humor of SHAZAM! let it not be ignored that the movie has a terrific score behind it from Benjamin Wallfisch. Recalling the fantastical spirit of John William's SUPERMAN score, and even a bit of Danny Elfman's SPIDER-MAN music, the score is light, whimsical and evokes the pure magic of what it feels like to be a superhero. This comes to life best with the opening track “SHAZAM” as well as pieces like “I Can Fly,” and “Superman It.” I'm also going to throw the word “wondrous” in there, as so many pieces are all about highlighting the fantasy elements, like “The Consul of Wizards,” “Seeking Spell,” and “The Rock of Eternity.” There's something very old school about the music for SHAZAM! and it just further goes to establish the movie as operating from a place of true joy, wonder and that age-old sensation of opening up a comic book and wanting to be a superhero. While it may not always have the sheer power of AQUAMAN's score, SHAZAM!'s attains a level of pureness that most superhero movie music doesn't often have, and thank god for composers like Wallfisch and Alan Silvestri (AVENGERS) keeping that spirit alive.

Visuals/Action

Okay, this section is pretty cut and dry. Out of all the superhero films on the market, some small and some blown to wildly epic proportions, AQUAMAN manages to stand out from the pack with some gobsmacking visual effects that get to fill the screen and take on bold life thanks to Wan's vision. The entire visual effects team and the art department are absolute geniuses and made this one of the most visually arresting comic book movies of all time, from the city of Atlantis to the Trench showdown and all the way to that absurd underwater battle with sea dragons, sharks with lasers attached to their heads and f**king crab people! This movie was brought to life by a whole team of people who wanted to deliver a mind-blowing experience, and on numerous occasions, they succeeded marvelously, even if it's just a small moment like an octopus playing the drums. The action is its own beast too, Wan favoring long takes that often use a 360-degree style to let the characters move around their environment in wild ways. There's no one action scene that moves and looks like the other, and the same goes when you compare it to other movies in the genre. Okay, okay, I'll admit…those character de-aging effects aren't…great.

SHAZAM! will not go down in history for its visual effects or its action, and based on the relatively small budget for a movie like this ($100 million), this was not ever meant to be an AQUAMAN-level movie. The visuals of Shazam in action don't look very polished and sometimes don't blend into their environment as well as they should — most noticeable when characters are flying around. The superhero powers look fun as hell, like any time he fires lighting from his hands or speeds around, but again, this is not one area where the movie will leave its mark. The action scenes between Shazam and Sivana don't do much to stand out, and only really have life when comedy is worked in. Once again, not too be watched for its visual prowess…but there's always the future installments!

Heart/Humor

AQUAMAN starts out with the lovely recounting of Thomas Curry and Atlanna's romance, which led to Arthur's birth, as is expected to happen in those situations. From there on out there's not a lot of room for tenderness among the chaos, with the relationship between Mera and Aquaman feeling a little obligatory and not as earned as it should be. Then, again, at the end when Thomas and Atlanna are reunited it's undeniably sweet. As for the humor department, Momoa gets to flex a different kind of muscle and throw out some one-liners and get all quipy. He's a funny man, but so many of the other characters are far too serious to have time for joke-making. But for those who prefer the more serious DC movies, I guess this movie strikes that right balance of humor from the leading man and everyone else taking the mayhem very, very seriously.

If this movie has anything in spades it's heart and humor, with the emotional journey of Billy both compelling and engaging, and his eventual acceptance of his new family coming off like a journey well traveled, an emotional conclusion well-earned. It helps that everyone in the movie is so damn good, everyone naturally likable and making for the picture-perfect family. But then there's the movie's rapid, constant sense of humor, making it one of the funniest superhero movies ever along with THOR: RAGNAROK and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. As you may have noticed above there is no shortage of hilarious lines to re-quote, and I actually had to cut some out for the sake of space. I've said this for other movies before, but this one is never not funny, with Sandberg and his team finding all sorts of ways to get laughs out of virtually everyone, especially Levi. Thanks to this sense of humor elevating every scene to near perfection, making action scenes better and characters more engaging, SHAZAM! may go down as one of the most easily rewatchable movies in the genre. 

SHAZAM!

While it may have come out just under its competition, let it never ben said that AQUAMAN is not an incredibly entertaining comic book movie that looks and moves unlike anything else in the genre. James Wan deserves all the praise in the world not just for crafting a movie that makes use of some stunning visual effects but having the vision to make those visuals leave impressions on viewers that are sure to stay there long after the credits roll. No, the scripting and character work are not up to the same level, which is perhaps why a lot of critics dunked on it, but there is more than enough to love in this massive, insane movie. As thrilling and bonkers as it is, it can't quite top the all-around excellence of SHAZAM! which fires on all cylinders from an excellent cast, a terrific script and story, incredible work from the leading man (men), and its overall goal of harkening back to a simpler era of superhero lore that has been lost in the parade of excess and spectacle. Not that there's anything wrong in world-ending heroics, but there is something so pure about everything in SHAZAM! from its character work, music, sense of humor and beating heart that makes it just as entertaining and special as the biggest, most emotionally resounding superhero epics. While not exactly a box office bomb, audiences certainly slept on this movie, and I only hope we get a chance to see more from this crew…and hopefully with some better visual effects in tow. 

SHAZAM is on Digital now and on Blu-ray and DVD on July 16.

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