Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what movies I’ve seen over the past week. Below, you will find short reviews of those movies along with a star rating. Full length reviews may come at a later date.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Shazam!

The biggest difference between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe is lightness. While the original Superman films were fairly lighthearted and accessible, staring with Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, Warner has embraced the darkness inherent in the gritty crime universe of Batman. This has seeped into nearly every other subsequent DC film and has been especially commonplace in the DCEU. Even films like Wonder Woman and Aquaman have grimy elements and bleaker environments. Shazam! is the lightest film the DCEU has come up with so far and it would fit perfectly into the MCU style of filmmking.

With prior films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation as his only influence, director David F. Sandberg would have been a fitting addition to the existing DCEU slate, but what he’s managed to turn out with Shazam! is a fluffy, friendly, accessible film that can please audiences of all ages and even permit them in without a parent or guardian. The concept of the film is that of an ancient mage looking to impart his knowledge into a suitable human vessel, but struggling to find one that is pure of heart. One of his prior trial subjects (Mark Strong in adulthood) spends his entire life searching for a way to take control of the promised magic powers that he believes he was deserving of. After he releases the 7 deadly sins that the magician was guarding, the wizard imparts his powers in the next kid he summons: Billy Batson (Asher Angel).

Billy is a foster kid constantly searching for his mother who he became separated from at a carnival. Transferring from one foster family to another, he finally ends up in a house with five other foster kids of varying ages, one of whom imparts in him his knowledge of all things superhero, especially once Billy becomes Shazam! Embodied in adult form by Tony Award nominee Zachary Levi who rose to geekdom fame thanks to his starring role in the television pop culture sensation Chuck. Levi gives one of his best performances as a perpetually-childlike superhero who must come to terms both with his immense new powers, but also with his need to depend on others, something he’s never excelled at.

While many of the plot turns telegraphed in advance and Strong as the moustache-twirling villain is almost laughably over the top, Shazam! is a blissfully simplistic superhero yarn. Entertaining in spades and featuring segments of spectacular wall-to-wall visual effects, the film is a must watch for anyone who felt the DCEU was getting too dark for its own good. Although he hasn’t been fully embraced by the rest of the DCEU, he’s considered a part of it and it will be nice to see an expansion to the lighthearted nature of the character into the DCEU to bring some much needed levity and warmth.