Shazam! Fury of the Gods

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel to 2019's Shazam! and this time sees the Shazam fam up against the daughters of Atlas who seek their father's stolen powers and the seed of life stolen from their dead realm. The thing I most love about these films that I wish they'd focus on more, because they're actually so good at it, is the more grounded narrative. In the first film it was Billy's honest feelings about the foster system and trying to find his birth Mum; this time around it's seeing how this large foster family connects and relates to one another. Any time the film takes a breath and gives us a gentler scene with them all it often lands really well. 

The special effects I really went back and forth on, but it has stepped up a little in the big set piece moments. Scenes like when Kalypso planted the tree or the Shazam fame were saving people on the bridge looked really clean and colossal in scale; while designs like the dragon and the unicorns actually had some nice, unique details to them.

 

Zachary Levi, who played Shazam, is consistently a good protagonist in this film and shares the screen with humility; I most liked how Levi played his character's fear of losing his home with his found family. Adam Brody, who played Super Hero Freddy, didn't really land well in the first film but gets to stand out a lot more here; Brody finds the unabashed confidence and humour of Freddy here with none of Grazer's nervous energy. Meagan Good, who played Super Hero Darla, was one of the standout performances of the first film and continues to steal scenes this time around; her knack for actually making you see a kid as an adult superhero is something that eclipses even Levi. Lucy Liu, who played Kalypso, is the greatest antagonist of the film; I feel Liu really leans into the fun of playing someone wicked with a spite complex. Djimon Hounsou, who played the Wizard, is quite surprisingly back but I am certainly not complaining; Hounsou gets to be a little more witty and sarcastic this time which results in great chemistry with Grazer. Faithe Herman, who played Darla Dudley, is one of the sweetest characters in the film; Herman's Darla is quietly the heart of the Shazam family.

However, the best performance came from Jack Dylan Grazer, who played Freddy Freeman. This young performer was one i really struggled to enjoy in the first film, the way he lashed out and acted jealous made the role unlikeable. This time around it's clearly the same role but he's a lot more fascinating to follow. Grazer is making light with the aloof loner, you can see how his quirky character still lives on the fringes of high school social circles. I enjoyed seeing him having really positive connections with his family but wanting time to himself to be a superhero, to finally fly free and feel larger than life. It's a really nice contrast that is only heightened by the charming way Grazer portrays his character's crush on Zegler's Anthea. I loved seeing the angsty shackles come off, Grazer in his element when he gets to be more comedic and deliver his lines at half a mile a minute. The thing that really tipped this performance over the edge for me is the incredible way Grazer presents his role as someone with exceptional willpower in two pivotal scenes where his character has lost powers. It's a nice reminder that even without superpowers folks have the ability to be superheroes.

A good sequel tends to progress the story of the central characters from the original or introduce major new elements, but this sequel really fails in that respect. One of my biggest gripes about Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the main storyline. The Daughters of Atlas rivalling up against the Shazam fam because they want their powers/power they possess is exceptionally similar to what the first film was doing with Sivana. Even the gags around the antagonists being incredibly serious while dealing with kids who are a lot more immature comes off as quite recycled. As a whole the feature really isn't as funny as the first film was, a big part of that is because Shazam/Billy isn't given the chance to be comedic as often. In fact for a film with 'Shazam' in the title the character feels weirdly placed throughout his own movie. Often Shazam pipes up when the main plot needs to advance or the team needs to be driven forwards but it's not until the final act that he really becomes quite an active player in his own feature. I find this quality really surprising because it's not like he isn't around, he's in the bulk of the picture but he just isn't utilised like a main character should be. With a main cast that's around 15 characters strong, it's not surprising but it's markedly disappointing. The film swerves away from subplots wherever it can, even if these moments hold more impact than the main feature itself. The first Shazam had a pretty dicey strip club scene and this film continues to drop the bar by having teenage character flirt with adult women, one actively having a romantic relationship with one by the end of the feature. The first feature had a very jarring tone between horror and comedy that is less pronounced here but which still comes with a negative impact, the horror elements often feel out of place in a feature that has more squarely nestled into superhero blockbuster stereotypes. The ending for this film takes out a lot of high stakes by including one of the weakest cameos I've seen in a superhero film for a long time and then proceeds to end in a manner that I equally disliked when Black Adam did it too.

The way this film is filmed is just as bad as the predecessor, massive obvious wides that make the special effects easy but the scenes visually boring. I also thought the special effects improved in some key areas but as a whole there were a lot of problems; namely anytime a character was flying or using super speed or in the fight scene with Helen Mirren. I also was quite conflicted over the final fight of the feature which really grappled between good looking moments and egregious slow motion and poor flying shots. The soundtrack is filled with a distinct lack of imagination, I like 'Holdin' Out for a Hero' by Bonnie Tyler but it's been used this way so much now that it's becoming tired. The score is done by Christophe Beck, who also did the recent Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which makes two really forgettable superhero blockbuster scores he's done in 2023.

Asher Angel, who played Billy Batson, was one of the best parts of the first film and is ridiculously reduced in screen time here; Angel gives quite an unsteady performance this time and he and Levi have really lost their dynamic as sharing the role. Rachel Zegler, who played Anthea, really puts things on quite strong throughout and is not subtle as the surprise antagonist for the film; placing Zegler as the bleeding heart of the baddies often feels like she is playing scenes far too over the top to counter Mirren and Liu. Ross Butler and D.J. Cotrona, who played Super Hero Eugene and Super Hero Pedro respectively, are still the background members of the Shazam fam just like the first film; neither performer gets an angle to really impress upon their own mark. Grace Caroline Currey, who played Mary Bromfield, just seems bored this time around and lends little personality to her character; there could be some good contrast to Billy with her playing the older sibling but the film never lends Currey enough. Helen Mirren, who played Hespera, gives the bare minimum to this film and I really don't blame her; Mirren's character is such a strained generic superhero baddie that there's not really much excitement or depth to be had here. Ian Chen, who played Eugene Choi, is still a little weirdly written and performed as the over the top child genius; Chen's character making strategies for the team by his knowledge of video games is such an awful character trait choice. Jovan Armand, who played Pedro, is content in the background and never gets to have much impact; Armand's whole subplot around his character being gay is sweet but often treated as a footnote or afterthought. Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews, who played Rosa Vasquez and Victor Vasquez respectively, are neither played well for emotional connection or comedy in this film; Milans in particular is set up for a sweet moment with her on-screen son but due to a lack of screen presence the impact is just not that strong. Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman, gives one of the hammiest cameos I've ever seen in a superhero film; I truly think Gadot as Wonder Woman has aged worse the longer she's been in this role.

 

For a movie titled Shazam! he feels significantly unimportant in his own movie a lot of the time. I would give Shazam! Fury of the Gods a 3/10.