Four years after the critical and financial success of the 2019 film, “Shazam!,” director David F. Sandberg officially returns with the long awaited sequel, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” The movie opened in theaters on Friday, March 17, 2023, as the first DC movie of 2023 and the first film to be released under the new management of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the heads of DC Studios.
Following the events of the first film, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is still learning how to juggle teenage life with his adult superhero alter ego Shazam (Zachary Levi) and five other foster siblings who were also gifted with superpowers by a powerful wizard (Djimon Hounsou). However, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, known as the daughters of Atlas, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago to avenge their father’s death. The trio consists of Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler). Shazam and his allies are then forced into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of the world.
The story follows a much darker tone then the first film, but it still provides tons of humor and plenty of one-liners, most of them coming from Zachary Levi’s character. It gives the film a fun, bouncy tone with a few moments of serious coolness. On top of that, Levi’s comedic timing is still on point for most of the film. Besides Levi’s character, most of the other actors gave excellent performances and provided the same amount of fun and charming humor that was also seen in the first movie. The majority of the fight scenes are very well done and fast-paced.
However, there were a few problems that the movie struggled with. While there is a certain sense of reach involved in what the sequel is trying to do, along with the ensemble cast still crackling with liveliness, the film’s structure still suffers from the lack of major conflicts that don’t contribute enough to the film’s story. Aside from the tedious plot, most of the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), in my opinion, felt a little wonky. That’s not to say that the film’s visuals were bad, but they mostly range from okay to great. Some of the visuals used in most of the fight scenes were very well used, especially during the final climax, but the CGI is definitely a mixed bag.
Overall, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” is a decent film. While it does lack the elements that were present in the first film, it still provides the same amount of energy and humor. Most of the cast members are very enjoyable to watch. It may not be DC’s best film, but it’s definitely not the worst. As of March 17, 2023, the movie has received mixed reviews from critics. It currently stands at a 51% score on Rotten Tomatoes and it managed to rank up a total of $110 million at the box office. Despite its flaws, the movie is still an enjoyable thrill ride for everyone.
