The second Shazam movie starring Zachary Levi is in theaters and that’s awesome! But is the sequel better than its predecessor? Yes and no. I admit that I like the sequel better than the first movie. I’m probably one of the few that didn’t think the first movie was all that great and maybe it’s because I’m just not a huge fan of the character. It doesn’t mean Shazam is not a good character, but in my opinion, he is not one of the better DC characters. However, he’s still interesting enough and there have been some great comic book stories with Shazam. In “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” we find the characters embracing superhero lives, but having trouble with it. They’re amateurs in a lot of ways. Billy means well, but his immaturity constantly shows in every attempt to be a superhero. This time the brothers and sisters come together to defeat the three daughters of Zeus who feel like they were robbed of their ancestral power. Perhaps in a way, they were. It makes for a great setup, and you know that Havoc will rear its ugly head.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a fun movie. These movies aren’t as dark as previous DC movies. They’re meant to be fun and lighthearted because you’re dealing with kids as superheroes. Yes, that’s one of the best things about the movie, also one of the most annoying things. One of my biggest criticisms is you get tired of Billy Batson by the end of this movie. He’s immature and stupid, and while it was funny in the first movie, wouldn’t you think he would have grown up and taken more responsibility as a superhero by the second movie? Not so much. The big surprise of the film is having Helen Mirren play one of the goddesses. She was great even if superhero movies are not where she shines as an actress. She makes her character sympathetic whereas Lucy Lui’s character is downright psychotic and you hate her from the very beginning, which I guess is the point.
But the shining star of the film other than Zachary Levi is Rachel Zegler from West Side Story who plays Anthea. She’s the one daughter who has some sense and doesn’t want to destroy Humanity. It’s also nice to see her character feel sympathetic toward Freddy, who walks with a cane when he’s not a superhero. The film has a lot of great action. The comedy is good for this type of film. There’s good chemistry among the adult superheroes as well as the kids. Meagan Good will make you laugh by playing the adult version of Darla as a superhero. She’s kind of the glue that keeps it all together. You will certainly be entertained and there should be light-hearted superhero movies. But Shazam! Fury of the Gods is also just trying to be one of the funnier Marvel movies.
The reason I don’t rate the Shazam movies as high as other DC movies is there not as dark and dramatic. There’s a certain tone set by Zack Snyder that made his movies, including the Snyder Cut of the Justice League movie better than they should be. I think his tone was perfect for DC movies because those stories are darker than Marvel stories. Shazam 2 feels like a fish out of water when it comes to the overall tone and while this movie as well as its predecessor is supposed to be more for kids, it’s hard to imagine it as a DC movie when there are supposed to be darker tones to the story. I admit that I like some of the DC movies from Man of Steel to Batman vs Superman and the Snyder cut of Justice League a lot better than most. It’s just this type of movie doesn’t feel the same. It feels more like something the CW would have made when it comes to a superhero show. And that’s fine, but if you’re going to have an overall vision for your superhero movies and Warner media has not always been good at that then you need to keep that same tone for all your movies.
Shazam Fury of the Gods is a fun movie, but it’s not a great movie and it’s definitely made for a younger audience or adults who grew up reading DC Comics and understand the darker tones within the story. I give this movie the same grade I did the last one. It’s a 6 out of 10. The film is good for what it is, but not as good when it comes to the storytelling of previous DC movies. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a movie about characters that aren’t really as important as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. However, the movie is made a little bit better with the fantastic cameo of Wonder Woman played by Gal Gadot. This is probably the last time we will see her as Wonder Woman. Billy Batson trying to hit on her was the funniest part of the movie. It’s a fun superhero movie, but don’t overpay for the tickets. Or maybe you should just wait till it’s on HBO Max.
