"My powers are not a gift. They're a curse, born out of rage."
I had a blast watching this in theaters. This was very bombastic, with a lot of cool action, but also telling a heartfelt story about Black Adam.
It was very inventive how they depicted Black Adam's origin, keeping it a mystery up near the end. Dwayne Johnson was born to play Black Adam. He steals every scene he's in playing a badass anto-hero.
Now the Justice Society, while they didn't have a backstory in the film, they each had prequel comics detailing their backstory. Which I really dig, these comics are meant to sell comics, after all. Might as well get the audience to buy the comics to get into some great stories (they are also currently doing this with The Flash). The movie actually starts right where the Doctor Fate prequel comic ends, so I don't think it's apographa. Doctor Fate played by Pierce Brosnan was a standout. He really put his all into this character. Aldis Hodge was also a standout as Hawkman.
The surprise villain of Black Adam, Sabbac, was a really good addition to the Shazam! mythos. If the wizards have their own champion, why doesn't the seven deadly sins have one? Sabbac is the answer to that. Doctor Fate's battle with him was really cool.
Overall, this wasn't as bad as the critics were saying, I had a fun time! Be sure to stay for the mid-credits scene!