Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

 

The first 'Shazam!' was a colourful and fun adventure and did make most of us feel as though Warner Bros and DC had finally realised that they didn't need to be all gloom and doom for their comic book adaptations. It was fresh, entertaining and funny. Sure, it wasn't the best film out there, but sometimes just a bit of lighthearted fun can go a long way. The follow-up has issues, but mostly sticks to the lighthearted approach, but it will probably not be as memorable because of the fairly poorly written villains this time around.

And some other minor niggles, but we'll get to that.

A few years have passed and now the Shazam family is almost in full swing. They operate as a team, because Billy wants everyone to do everything together. But because in essence they are all still kids, they fumble, stumble and fail, which unfairly causes the city to call them the 'Philadelphia Fiascoes'. 

Bit harsh, because they do manage to save a lot of people. This is a sort of running gag that doesn't get resolved and doesn't even receive a punchline. There's more of this, because the eldest sister is planning to leave for college and get a job in order to support the parents and Billy is almost of age and scared that he has to leave. Again, this doesn't really get resolved or cleared up. 

When the Daughters of Atlas get the wizard's staff, their powers begin to grow once more and they desire the superpowers of the Shazam family in order to restore themselves and their realm, but of course one of the sisters is so evil she wants to destroy all of humanity. See if you can spot the swerve coming a mile away. 

You can by the way. It's the same with the reveal of who the third sister is. You can instantly tell.

And then you get a city under an impenetrable dome, monsters from Greek myhtology and lots of quips and action to a finale that you know isn't as dire as they want you to believe.

As a superhero adventure, 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' is fine, I guess. It is entertaining, light and funny at times, but a lot of your enjoyment will depend on whether or not you can stomach Zachary Levi's hypercharged personality here. They also have Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren but don't utilise them enough which is a shame, even if it seems as though miss Mirren is having fun. It feels as though the studio didn't know whether to go for full blown action or keep the light tone of the first one and as a result the film sometimes falls a bit in between. Too bad really, as it might have worked if they stuck to the format of the first one. Add to that CG that is fairly inconsistent and varies between decent and shoddy (Lucy Liu on top of the dragon looks horrendous in every shot) and you can see why this might not be seen as a great addition. 

Oh, and that scene with Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is painful, because it is so blatantly obvious they shot it with her completely separate from everyone else and then they akwardly composited here in the shots. It feels so off it isn't even 'so bad it's good' anymore.

Don't get me wrong: it might seem as though this film is awful and it isn't. It can still be fun and kids will love the vibrant colour and sugarhigh pacing, but if you're looking for something with a little substance, this isn't it. It's okay.

I wish I could be more positive, but that is exactly what this film is: "okay".