★★★☆☆
Zachary Levi’s fast-talking, somewhat juvenile superhero returns for this run-of-the-mill superhero sequel. Read our review of Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
2019’s Shazam! felt like a breath of fresh air. It was light and breezy, focusing more on humour than the usual world-saving antics of modern superhero films. Zachary Levi, best known for his role in the TV show Chuck, was the perfect choice to play a superhero who is actually just a kid (Asher Angel) inside.
It was a moderate commercial success for DC so a sequel was inevitable. It was announced that Swedish director David F. Sandberg would return to direct and all seemed well in the DC Extended Universe. And then James Gunn took over with Peter Safran and now the entire future of the DCEU is a little uncertain, at least in the terms of which superheroes are scrapped.
Which brings us to Shazam! Fury of the Gods. There is a strange aura of disinterest surrounding the film. Are we supposed to care about any of this? Will the film have any meaningful part in the “new” DCEU? The trailers looked a little off too, with some questionable CGI so the expectations were not high for Shazam! 2.
Credit: Warner Bros.
The film picks up after the events of the first film. Billy Batson (Angel) and his foster siblings, all of whom now have the power to transform into superheroes by screaming “Shazam!”, have been dubbed the “Philly Fiascos” for their less-than-desirable superhero skills, but Billy insists they keep at it.
Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer as a kid, Adam Brody in superhero tights) is keen to fly solo, which Billy doesn’t approve of. Mary (Fall’s Grace Fulton) is trying to balance being a superhero and having a full-time job, reminding that Billy is also about to age out of the foster system and their family won’t receive government checks for him anymore.
The gang is in deep trouble as the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler) come to wreak havoc on Earth in search of the powers that our young heroes possess.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has a lot of plot, but is very light on overarching story. The plot speeds forward to an inevitable, CGI-filled showdown, but there’s nothing even remotely human to grab a hold of, nothing to relate to. Sandberg hints at greater, deeper themes such as Billy’s iron-tight grip on his family and his fears of not being good or heroic enough. These themes are spelled out, literally, by characters through dialogue.
Credit: Warner Bros.
But it’s simply not enough to have your characters state the themes, you still have to meaningfully explore them through actions and consequences. This is something that is missing from the majority of contemporary superhero films; actions have no consequences, no one ever dies and everything always has a happy ending.
There is a moment towards the end of the film, which we won’t spoil here, that had me sit up straight in my seat. Are they actually going through with this? For three blissful minutes I thought Sandberg was going to do something very few directors have dared to do in their films, but I ended up disappointed. Shazam! Fury of the Gods lacks stakes as well emotional gravity, making it a thoroughly frustrating film.
The action sequences are irritatingly uneven too. Because Shazam! is designed to appeal to a younger audience, there’s not a whole lot of violence here. People mostly get thrown around but no one is ever injured. The film’s CGI budget has clearly been increased but having a bunch of relatively tiny humans fly through huge CGI sets doesn’t make for a visually compelling film.
There’s still much to enjoy here. Levi is a charismatic and very naturally funny leader, but Grazer who steals all of the film’s thunder. His organic, relaxed performance is the source of the best jokes as well as the most interesting narrative and it almost feels like the entire film should be centred around his character. West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler is lovely here, but most characters are written in a depressingly shallow manner.
Credit: Warner Bros.
Despite Shazam! Fury of the Gods having plenty of chuckle-inducing moments, it lacks a sense of a bigger picture. While it’s fun to see Dame Helen Mirren play a literal god and Levi remains a highlight in the often too serious DCEU, Shazam! Fury of the Gods doesn’t retain the charm of its predecessor.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in cinemas 17 March.
