Shazam!
Let ’s be clear : bothCaptain MarvelandShazam!are upright superhero movies well worth seeing . They ’re doing very different thing within the same broad musical style : Captain Marvel ’s a science fiction war story , Shazam ! ’s a fantasy - teen clowning hybrid . Pitting two such dissimilar pic directly against each other would seem pointless and push … but there ’s one small thing which will make everyone equate the two films . We ’re not speak about the competition between DC and Marvel , or even about ranting of the dedicated nonage that decide to hate onCaptain Marvelbefore even seeing it . We ’re talking about how they ’re both , in a sentience , " Captain Marvel " movies . The nameless superhero at the center ofShazam!used to be called Captain Marvel , but a long legal saga receive Marvel Comics claiming the " Captain Marvel " hallmark and the ex - Fawcett / now - DC - owned hero being marketed as " Shazam " ( his prescribed name now in the comic strip ) .
Naturally , people will take which " Captain Marvel " movie is better ? If you ’re looking for a general and subjective opinion , we ’d say thatShazamis overall advantageously at what it ’s try out to action thanCaptain Marvelis at attain its goal . Shazam!is far and away the good DCEU film ( yes , even better thanWonder Woman ) , whileCaptain Marvelis middle of the pack for the MCU . However , there are still some advantagesCaptain Marvelhas overShazam ! , as well as exceptional qualities they both share . This list shall turn over in - astuteness on what makes these two very dissimilar " Captain Marvel " films stomach out .
plunderer WARNING for bothCaptain MarvelandShazam .
Shazam Wins: More Developed Hero
Brie Larson makes a good Carol Danvers , and we look forward to seeing more of Carol in succeeding MCU moving-picture show . The issue withCaptain Marvelis that we barely get to know the straight Carol Danvers . We see a lot of Vers , the Kree super - soldier she ’s brainwash into becoming , but scarcely get a gumption of who she really is as a person .
Shazam!works as well as it does because from the get - go , it crap viewers realize and handle about Billy Batson . We see his strengths and his deep flaw . We have it away where he ’s coming from and the conflict between what he desire and what he truly needs .
Shazam Wins: More Sympathetic Villain
Not all villains need to be sympathetic , and the decidedly closed Yon - Rogg serve his design in the plot ofCaptain Marvel . That said , a harmonic attribute often make scoundrel more interesting , and such is the suit with Dr. Sivana inShazam !
The very first scene of the movie set up his motivations : he originate up in an opprobrious household , and he feel the wiz Shazam plume him of his opportunity to be a Heron . The scene where he loose the Sin of Greed to take out his father in frigid blood demonstrates his ruthlessness as a villain , but it ’s still intelligible how he aim that ruthlessness .
Captain Marvel Wins: Stronger Conflict
On their own , both the zep and the baddie ofShazamare comfortably modernise than those inCaptain Marvel . When it follow to compelling reason for the sub and villain to defend , however , Captain Marvelhas the reward . This is n’t to sayShazam ’s conflict is bad ; Sivana has reason to aim Billy and Billy ’s journey to rise himself as a superhero does n’t demand he have any sort of deep connection to the superintendent - villains he fights .
However , the fact Yon - Rogg was Carol ’s mentor and operator add dramatic play and thematic weight to their conflict . Carol ’s triumph is not just a hero overcome a villain , but someone the victory of someone who ’s been take down and devalued jump up above those who put her down .
Shazam Wins: Supporting Cast
quickly , describe any character trait for any member of the Star Force away from Vers and Yon - Rogg . No , " appears inGuardians of the Galaxy " is n’t a character trait . That ’s one large swath ofCaptain Marvel ’s plunk for cast of characters that ’s wasted . Now , do the same for Billy ’s surrogate family . Much easier to key out them , proper ?
That ’s not precisely a one - to - one comparison , equate a team of bad guys to a squad of good guy , but still , Shazam!manages to give modest case more weight unit and personality than thoseCaptain Marveldoes overall . We like Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau and Talos inCaptain Marvel , but even Fury , the film ’s main " sidekick , " does n’t get the depth or worked up journey of Billy ’s " sidekick " Freddy .
Captain Marvel Wins: Universe Building
Captain Marvelhas a bit of an unjust advantage in this category by virtue of already live in a universe that ’s actually tenacious . Marvel Studios has long known how to connect wildly dissimilar narrative in style that enhance one another , whereas Warner Bros. plans for the DCEU have now more or less take root on not ingest a architectural plan at all .
Shazam!theoretically train spot in the same population as past DC movies , but we ’d be shocked if anything introduce there reappears in anything other than futureShazam!movies . Captain Marvel , in contrast , not only set up forEndgame , but develops a story for the Kree Empire , the Tesseract / Space Stone , Nick Fury , and the Avengers Initiative itself .
Shazam Wins: Story Structure
uncomplicated , straightforward storytelling , when done well , work for a reason . Henry Gayden ’s screenplay forShazam!isn’t doing any major experiments with formula , but executes all its story beat decently . It evidence you everything you need to about its characters to get invested in them and follow their phylogeny linearly .
Captain Marvel ’s screenplay , by Ana Boden , Ryan Fleck , and Geneva Robertson - Dworet , is a number more ambitious and experimental but not quite as perfectly successful . headwaiter Marvelconsciously avoids trying to be an " origin story " movie , piece together Carol Danvers ' past non - linearly through flashback , which hits firmly when we ultimately find out the full story but . until then . does n’t form the same aroused connexion .
Both Equal: Awesome Climaxes
While we putShazam!ahead ofCaptain Marvelwhen it comes to legal action tantrum as a whole , both movies pull out out all the stops when it hail to their big climaxes . Captain Marvel ’s third act could be improved if the Star Force was well develop , but it still impresses with an exciting delivery , the reverence - inspiring unleashing of Carol ’s full abilities , and Goose eating the Tesseract .
Shazam ! ’s flood tide , meanwhile , bring together the social rank of the not bad Christmas - themed action dress piece , and illustrates the film ’s themes of kinsperson in the most entertaining possible way . BothCaptain MarvelandShazam!know how to get an audience cheering in the end .
Shazam Wins: Humor
Being a drollery , mood is of course more significant forShazam!than it is for the more serious - minded distance opera house ofCaptain Marvel . Captain Marveldoes have some enough comic relief , but the funny parts ofCaptain Marveljust do n’t carry a candle to the big laughter inShazam !
The performances are key to the pic ' joke landing place . Zachary Levi is hilarious as an overgrown teenager bullshit and mostly failing at behaving like a working adult . Major props also go to Jack Dylan Grazer , who ’s capable to toy Freddie as divertingly obnoxious without thwart over into being actually annoying to watch .
Captain Marvel Wins: Innovative Effects
As a whole , neitherShazam!norCaptain Marvelwill bollix up you away with their CGI consequence work . Shazam!might in reality be more consistent tone - wise , but both cinema have their clean share of credit card - y CGI dead body doubles in action mechanism scenes . While the down points inCaptain Marvel ’s effects work are lower , however , it also has a innovational eminent pointShazam!can’t match : the de - aging study on Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury .
The digital Diamond State - aging on SLJ is so particular that you never even guess you ’re watching a partially - CGI performance ( Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson expect a bit more fake in parts , though not distractingly so.)Captain Marvelof form had a much larger budget thanShazam!to pull up off such stunning employment .
Shazam Wins: Varied Tone
You sleep with from the coming attractor thatShazam!is run low to be suspicious . What you would n’t know is thatShazamis able-bodied to swing from being peculiar to being shockingly serious and even sad . It ’s got fit of fooling around with superpowers , but it ’s also unforced to bring you to teardrop . Even the fantasy stuff is n’t all laugh : director David S. Sandberg put his repugnance background to knead for some shockingly shivery - for - a - family - movie moments .
Captain Marvel ’s note is what you ’d expect from a middle - of - the - road Marvel picture show . It gets a little weird but nottooweird , a little dark but nottoodark , a fiddling silly but nottoosilly . Shazam!swings bigger in all counselling and is more memorable for it .
