The first Shazam was released in 2019. The DC movies landscape was going through a tough time in that moment, essentially with the studio self-sabotaging projects in attempts to find what will be the most profitable for them. Essentially, nothing has changed in the four years since. Shazam was a healthy dose of levity that stood on its own with a fun cast, and seemed targeted towards a younger audience who could handle a bit of CG terror.
The DC movies will soon be going through a limbo as they kind of reset, but before that, we have Shazam 2, The Flash, and Aquaman 2 to burn through. Though, the company is coming off a string of box office failures and that decline may not change anytime soon.
Shazam 2 picks up with the Shazamily a few years after they receive their powers. The kids are still hiding their alter egos from their foster parents and take part in every heroic act they can, while sometimes causing more destruction than they prevent. Meanwhile, a few mysterious women seek the magical staff from the first movie to reclaim their rightful powers and restore their realm of Olympus, which may cause the end of our Earthly realm.
This sequel leans into the magic and mythology far more than the first movie and these moments are when the movie is at its best. There is so much untapped potential in their lair, the Rock of Eternity. Some of the visuals and deeper lore would fit extremely well in the Harry Potter universe. Also, diving into the grander mythology of the gods is a fun layer that builds into already established DC movie lore.
Let’s stay on the positives while we can. Helen Mirren leads the villainous daughters of Atlas. Regardless of how memorable she is as a villain in the greater scheme of things, it’s really enjoyable watching her chew the scenery in a glorified children’s action movie. Also, this movie learned to give more screen time to the best asset of the first movie, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer). While he’s a clear sidekick, he gets a near equal amount of screen time to Zachary Levi. He continues to be the best part of this franchise.
Zachary Levi is the worst part of this franchise. I can’t say if it’s his fault or how he’s directed, but his overgrown radical child performance is even more over the top and buffoonish than in the original. In the first movie, Asher Angel brought heart and real talent as a brooding teen that finds new powers. Levi, as the grown up version, never quite matched the angst that Angel displayed. Now, Asher Angel only gets approximately 2 1/2 minutes of screen time, while the seemingly illiterate grown up Shazam unfortunately takes the lion’s share. The role has become a desperate performance that equates to a small child yelling “Hey! Look at me!” I’d rather not.
The humor hits fast, but lands very few blows. They’ve learned all the wrong lessons from Marvel, as some of the movie’s more emotional moments are undercut with a sly joke. Though, I must admit that this movie got me guffawing with a certain corporate sponsor that potentially saved the world.
The beauty of the first movie is how simple it all felt. This sequel, on the other hand, starts things off with several B-plots that are forgotten about in the second act and never returned to. The movie wanted to give deeper characterization to some of the supporting cast, but it’s all lost when they all focus on the McGuffin.
Fury of the Gods finally finds its rhythm in the final battle. The last act has a genuine moment of needed heart that leads to a fantastical battle that balances the heroics of those with powers and humans alike. There are moments of hilarity, sadness and actual threat that I would have loved watching as a kid.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a serviceable, yet inconsequential movie. It’s not a bad movie, by any means. It’s far better than the glut of recent cape flicks (outside of The Batman). The best thing director David Sandberg accomplishes is making a kids movie with some genuinely dark moments. This movie walks a fine line of skewing too adult, but is still primarily made for children. I can’t see this movie doing well at the box office, but maybe if Zachary Levi marries into (his new boss) James Gunn’s family, we’ll see him in the reset DCU. C-
Comments are closed.