15 greatest superhero movies of the decade

12. Shazam!

Released: April 5, 2019

Given the film’s titular hero, it might be a little on-the-nose to refer to Shazam! as lightning in a bottle, but once you sit down and watch it, you totally see why that’s a phrase it earns.

A film that had to follow in the footsteps in the DCEU’s record-breaking Aquaman, Shazam! came along at a time when the DCEU had a ton of pressure on it to maintain its young streak of good fortune, and yet the tone of the film was one of reckless abandon, as the writers and the cast approached it like they had nothing to lose.

A feel-good film of the highest degree, the fun-filled flick was a callback to the superhero movies of old – one that breathed new life into the DCEU. More than that, it was an enjoyable family-friendly offering that brought a smile to the collective faces of audiences worldwide – all while introducing the world to one of DC’s lesser-known superheroes.

Zachary Levi embodied the Shazam character to perfection, giving us one of the most authentic adaptations of a comic book character to ever grace the silver screen, while Asher Angel delivered a moving performance as his teenage other half Billy Batson. And both of them paired brilliantly with Jack Dylan Grazer who, as the enthusiastic Freddy Freeman, stole the show at every given moment, authentically capturing every emotion that a superhero fan would have – emotions that this film, no doubt, inspired in all of us.