Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review!
SPOILER WARNING!
Four years ago, we finally got to meet Billy Batson aka Shazam on the big screen and now we finally get to see the sequel titled "Shazam! Fury of the Gods". This movie debuted in a weird place for DC as a new regime will be taking over. The first film came out in 2019 and now, in 2023, we have another fun, adventurous DC film! Let's review!
Before we start, let's look at the cast:
Zachary Levi- Shazam
Asher Angel- Billy Batson
Jack Dylan Grazer- Freddy Freeman
Rachel Zegler- Anthea
Adam Brody- Super Hero Freddy
Ross Butler- Super Hero Eugene
D.J. Cotrona- Super Hero Pedro
Grace Caroline Currey- Mary Bromfield/Superhero Mary
Meagan Good- Super Hero Darla
Lucy Liy- Kalypso
Djimon Hounsou- Wizard
Helen Mirren- Hespera
The other cast I will quickly add are: Faithe Herman (Darla), Ian Chen (Eugene), Jovan Armand (Pedro), Marta Milans (Rosa Vasquez) and Cooper Andrews (Victor Vasquez).
I went into this movie with little to no expectations. I really enjoyed the first film and was hoping for the sequel to either be better or the same and I would've been ok with it. To mu surprise, this movie was really solid and I had fun with it. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it either. The film did have some questionable things in it but also some good things. I will start this review with the negatives and end on a good note.
To start things off, when movies drop their release dates and theaters drop their pre-order dates for tic
kets, I am always on top of getting tickets. What happened this go around was that no theaters around me or in my area did not have tickets on sale. I was franticly searching and on multiple apps just trying to find three tickets and had no luck, so I just gave up. Fast forward to the day before premiere night and I happened to check and there they were. Crazy right? Anyways, let's talk about the negatives on the film. I didn't have a ton of them, but I do have some that lowered my overall thoughts on it. To start things off, the pacing of the film was just ok. Some scenes went by real fast while others took its sweet time. I felt like they rushed scenes with Freddy and Anne (Anthes) which, at times, was ok but I wish we got to see more of them, and their chemistry build up. Speaking of chemistry, I felt like their needed to be more with the family. I'm not sure how to describe it, but when some kids lost their powers, no one really felt bad. The kid's kind of just went with the flow and that's it. Another issue I had is probably the biggest one and that is the future of this character and DC.
Recently, James Gunn and Peter Safran were named to run DC and its future. That's great and I have high expectations for this franchise. However, the new DC won't start until after 2023 so what does that mean with Shazam? Will he return or will his character just be written off and then recast down the line, who knows. This sequel had been so confused in this aspect because the movie hinted to futuristic things and plans, but it just didn't feel right. I mean, they had Gal Gadot make a cameo as Wonder Woman in the film and we know she won't be returning! I was trying to figure out what was going on but eventually I shut my brain off and just watched the movie for what it is. Then the mid credit scene happened and I got even more confused! Essentilly, we see Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee make an appearance as Harcourt and Economos to ask Shazam if he wanted to join the Justice...Society. Going back to my previous question about the future of DC, WHAT IS GOING ON?! Enough of the yelling, let's talk about the positives.
This movie was really fun and I really had a great time with it. When I shut off my brain and just watched it, I found that I really enjoyed three aspects of this movie and they are: the family aspect, the action and the comedy. We knew from the first film that Billy had a "family" of other kids who were orphans and they were being raised by a couple then Billy gets his powers and eventually all of the kids do. Moving into this film, time has passed, and they are now a super family who have meetings, discussions and breakdowns of their days. I personally loved that part but what I really enjoyed was the turmoil and upward climb that Billy had to make to keep his new family safe and protected. The end of the movie had a fantastic shot of everyone hugging and I just smiled from ear to ear. Next up is the action and boy did the final chapter of this film deliver! When things start taking over the world, you need people to step up and that's exactly what happened in this film. I would say the biggest sequence of action came when Shazam was fighting Kalypso who just so happened to be riding a dragon. The two squared off inside a shield bubble and when Shazam had the idea to create an explosion by using his lightning and so the fight ensued and when the dust settled all was left was Billy's body and dust. I know it's sad but how about the comedy side of things! This movie made me laugh so much and I loved it. The best part was that it felt natural and genuine, not forced. I found that the wittiness was also a great addition and very timely. Comedy is subjective and I laughed a lot during this film and I think most people will.
Overall, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" was a very solid film that I would recommend. I do believe that if you liked the first one then you will like this one. While there are some issues with the film, I believe the good outweighs the bad.