Shazam: Fury of the Gods – A Silly Sequel That Should Grow Up

It’s been a while since the original Shazam was released back in 2019 and it’s even longer after accounting for when the first film was shot to now with the release of its long-awaited sequel, Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Due to highly-publicized circumstances out of its control, the film was delayed twice from its original release date of April 2022 but for whatever reason, it just hits different this time around as the quirks of the franchise arguably feel dated. Meanwhile, for a franchise known for its childishness and silliness, one would think that it would somewhat make an effort to grow up after all this time. It can’t exactly preserve its young cast of superheroes forever. In the case of this film, it found itself in the middle of those extremes. Trying to do both, it fails to find a right balance and do either justice. Pushing through some rushed character development to try and overcompensate in moving the franchise forward in the midst of its incredibly silly premise, all with thin characters, comes off as forced. That being said, the film has its moments that will surely be more than enough for a lot of audiences as once it commits to the silliness, it is a blast.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods finds the foster family of superheroes now older and enjoying their powers but not necessarily working as a team, much to the chagrin of Shazam (Levi) who had a different plan for all of them. Keeping a watchful eye on the city of Philadelphia, they struggled for acceptance as they were essentially still figuring things out as they went along. These superheroes were children and/or teens after all and they took that immaturity and impulsiveness to the field. Though they had their moments, the story focused mostly on Billy (Angel) and Freddy (Grazer) whose relationship was the heart of the original film. All things considered; they also showed their age at times. Months away from becoming an adult and potentially aging out of their group home, their time together appeared to soon be coming to an end. Abandoned by his father, mother, and jumping from group home to group home, Billy finally found a family perhaps held on too tightly out of fear of losing them too.

Regardless, Billy and the rest of his family would have to find a way to come together as they found themselves the targets of a pair of Greek gods who out for revenge for them stealing the power they believed did not belong to them. Banished to another realm until after the events of the original film, the daughters of Atlas, Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren), looked to reclaim the power of their father and other gods taken away from them by the human wizards who banished them. Little did they know, what they were actually up against. Let’s just face it, the story only gets sillier from there but if anything, it gave audiences the absolute blast of a pairing of Freddy and the doubtful Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) as a way to connect both storylines. Blinded by a love interest named Anne (Rachel Zegler), his impulsiveness may have gotten him in trouble though it was nice to see him happy if not for a moment until the truth is revealed. As their city and their family were in jeopardy, the family had to grow up and work as a team and being a team meant more than merely having superpowers. As far as Billy/Shazam was concerned, he had to find his place and voice as a leader and not let himself be controlled by fear.

Trying to force its characters along by the means of an incredibly silly story, Shazam: Fury of the Gods doesn’t work nearly as well as the original film in trying to play both sides. Once it actually picks a side by the time of its third act and embraces the silliness, the film is actually fun to watch. Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that it is incredibly silly and ridiculous while bordering on camp more often than not and the CGI creatures are horrible (the rest of the VFX were okay), but it’s fun in spite of all of that. The trajectory of the plot won’t come as much of a surprise, however, there was still some excitement there. While there were some stakes here, where the film stands in terms of the DCEU as a whole is not necessarily a sure thing even if the final scene of the film, featuring a pointless cameo, and its mid and post credit scenes may suggest otherwise.

Overall, what kept Shazam: Fury of the Gods together was its performances in spite of the script. Solid across the board, three in particular definitely understood the assignment with Grazer as a consummate scene-stealer as Freddy thanks to the assist of Hounsou’s Wizard and Liu and Mirren overcommitting to the roles of Kalypso and Hespera and having a blast in the process. Those looking for more Shazam family fun may be disappointed as they essentially get pushed aside except for Billy and Freddy but for what little the film offers, they were fun to watch.

At the end of the day, though it may be a step down from the original film, it is nevertheless a fun film in its own right. While the delays and the DC turmoil behind the scenes didn’t do it any favors, it may not be memorably but still does enough to entertain.

still courtesy of Warner Bros.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.