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Shazam! Fury of the Gods
(Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema/DC)
By Lucas Allen
The first “Shazam,” released in 2019, was meant to be a soft reboot for the DCEU. Then James Gunn took over, “Black Adam” bombed at the box office, and the universe faced a greater reboot this summer with “The Flash,” featuring the return of Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck’s Batman. But before that can happen, the lovable “kid-at-heart” superhero will have to prove his worth with audiences with the sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” The film is once again directed by David F. Sandberg, who brings more humor and action than ever.
Turning 18, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) fears he may be aging out of his adopted family. He still spends his days as his super alter-ego Shazam (Zachary Levi) alongside his friends Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody), Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), Eugene (Ian Chen and Ross Butler), Pedro (Jovan Armand and D.J. Cotrona), and Darla (Faithe Herman and Meagan Good) to help the city of Philadelphia. However, their actions tend to get them dubbed by the local press as the “Philly Fiascos.” Also, much to Billy’s annoyance, Freddy would much rather be on his own, including pining for new classmate Anthea (Rachel Zegler).
Unfortunately, the evil daughters of Atlas, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), return to exact revenge on humanity by stealing a powerful staff and imprisoning the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou), who gave Billy his powers. Anthea is the third daughter and is in on the plan, leaving Freddy and the others vulnerable and without their powers. This leaves Billy (as Shazam) on a quest to stop the evil sisters from destroying the world.
Those who enjoyed the first film will most likely enjoy the sequel much more, with its exciting blend of likable humor, intense action and some good family drama. The characters are nicely written, with a little more depth, while the story does a good job advancing certain plot lines started in the original. Its only major flaw is having to retcon the Wizard, who turned to ash in the previous film and now is back to help our heroes without much explanation. Sure, he factors into this story pretty well, but he could’ve been replaced by another DC character (maybe Black Adam?) and it would’ve worked just as well.
Much like the original, the sequel’s script has some tonal issues of its own but is not as problematic as before. It does try its best to add some legit drama involving Billy getting older, but doesn’t go into that too deeply. The bad guys this time around are more sinister and pose a real genuine threat, especially giving Kang the Conqueror from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” a run for his money. The final act is your usual big action scene, this time with a giant tree that gives birth to ancient Greek monsters turning it into “Clash of the Titans” run amok. Not to mention, in the middle of all that chaos, it also becomes an extended commercial for Skittles.
Levi dominates this film, becoming lovingly hilarious as ever while staying true to his “kid-at-heart” persona. Angel does a much better job this time around, while Grazer once again steals the show. Mirren and Liu are both the best parts of this movie as the angriest and most sinister gods this side of Loki, while Zegler does a fine job as the younger sister. Despite the weird retcon, Hounsou still shines as the Wizard with a little more personality.
Basically, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” is the definition of “pretty good sequel” that aims to please fans of the previous film without missing its purpose. It’s certainly a fun movie in its own right, and there’s nothing entirely wrong with that. Still, it’ll be interesting to see where the title character will go next after the release of “The Flash.”
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, and language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
