The_Film_Cricket
Bad movies are easy to fault, 'Kazaam' is a total mystery, a movie that goes wrong from the very basic concept. I could not figure out how anyone thought that casting basketball great Shaquille O'Neal as a genie was a good idea. How in the world do you convince anyone to spend millions of dollars on this concept? I could argue that it's an ad for Shaq as a product but the movie showcases none of the charm and talent that have made him a star athlete. So what's the point? The pathetic stab at a story involves a lonely kid who finds a boom box in the wreckage of an old building. Suddenly out pops a 5,000-year-old genie that grants him three wishes. Therein lies the first question – How could a 5,000 year old genie live in an object that has probably been around only about 10 years? Kazaam gives the kid a mountain of candy that falls from the sky and therein lies the second question – How does he know what candy is and how does he know how to materialize them in wrappers that he has never seen? I also put this question to the mountain bike that he presents to the kid. Kazaam's boom box was found the wreckage of a building. Somehow I feel like I've given more thought to this script then they did.As for the kid, he's played by Francis Capra, a young actor the I liked in Robert De Niro's 'A Bronx Tale' a few years back. In that film he was likable, bright and always seemed to be listening when the other actors were speaking to him, not just waiting for his cue. Here that's all gone, he's bored and never seems to be trying. It's kind of like watching Maculay Culkin in his worst films.'Kazaam' is tired. I'm not just talking about the script or idiotic idea of casting Shaquille O'Neal as a genie but I mean this movie is paced so lethargically that it made me tired just watching it do nothing. This is what I call a 'door movie', because the filmmakers don't care what you see on screen because after you've paid the admission and gone through the door, their job is basically done.
TheLittleSongbird
Well, adolescent really(19). Like Howard the Duck, Kazaam was a movie I loved as a child but looking back on it I was shocked at how low my taste buds were as a kid. Granted, there are some funny moments specifically the ones with the flying toasts and the bicycle race. And it is not the worst movie of 1996, Ed and especially Bio Dome are worse. However, the special effects are really quite substandard, and the rest of the production values are of direct to video quality and shoddy ones at that. The story is predictable with only a few worthwhile scenes to favour, the sight gags suffer from poor comic timing and the script is childish and simplistic. The characters I really dislike here, the kid is annoying, the villain is one of the lamest I have seen in a long time while Shaquille O'Neal's Genie with his awful rapping(then again I dislike rap intensely, and that is the least problematic of his performance) grated on me fast. The acting doesn't fare much better either, while the direction is literally non-existent and the soundtrack is only tolerable if on mute. This is of course my opinion, disagree all you want, I guess I just didn't like it. 2/10 Bethany Cox
yankcrime15
This isn't as much of a film as it is a giant promotional campaign by Touchstone Pictures to market the NBA's worst free thrower with his extraordinary height. Not only is this obviously forever trapped in a time capsule set to 1996, but everything in this film is done so bad that it's completely laughable.If I had a handful of cardboard cutouts, they would be far more dimensional than any of the people that acted in this film. It's obvious that Shaq not only fails at free throws, rapping and being a video game character, but his acting is absolutely dreadful. He's a "rapping" (actually a RHYMING) genie that moved into a boombox and is summoned when a boy named Max (played by a young Francis Capra) stumbles upon him after being chased by bullies. Throughout the movie, Shaq becomes a subject of slavery as Max owns him until his three wishes are granted. That's pretty much the whole plot, unless you're actually going to include a meaningless subplot about "finding the true father".It doesn't get any better from there. Shaq demonstrates his mad rapping skills by appearing at a night club where he becomes a selected guest. Guess how fast Theodor Geisel was spinning in his grave when he brought forth the detestable line of "Let's green egg and ham it!" Probably around the same speed that would also be brought forth by those two live action adaptations that shall not be named.Then there's some phenomenal acting. I'm talking about the magical french toast. That performance was far more convincing than anything you could expect Shaq to give us. Too bad this film killed its career.Speaking of career killers, ever noticed what happened to Paul Michael Glaser after he directed this film? It's a long story.Granted, it's not one of THE worst things I have ever seen, but it's very close. Kazaam is proof that pitching a non actor as a main character usually does not give satisfactory results. With all this time wasted in the production of this film, I bet Shaq could have gotten some more practice at free throws. The most shocking thing about this? Shaq actually got ANOTHER lead role a year later, but that's a whole different story subject.
deadeyeaim-671-117306
Now, most people who vote this movie as being "bad" probably had the powerful symbolism go over their heads, not that that would be to hard to accomplish. I would suggest everyone rewatch this movie closer and you will see what I mean.This movie may be one of the most powerful commentary on the horror of gang violence and illegal sex trades in America I have ever seen.Watch the movie with that in mind and Shaqs performance will blow you away.10/10I would suggest that this American classic be in every moviegoers collection.
AD
