We all know it was never going to beat the 1st film. But at least try.
I didn't hate this film, which is maybe down to the cast and humour, but its like the film industry doesn't take their time and just accepts any old storyline just to make a dollar.
Shame, this could of been Shamazing.
Missus went to bed in the middle of this one.
An on the fence 3 stars, at a push.
The original Shazam proved to be curate’s egg of a film for the majority of people who viewed it, although I suspect the film suffered from the curiously inflexible ‘comic-book fans’ who can be particularly harsh and unforgiving if any output by Marvel or DC does not meet their exacting and precise expectations, although fans of any type of literature given the movie treatment can be like this to be even-handed. Personally, I really liked Shazam as it came in with the right dose of fun and action and used the comedy effectively and in the right portions and places. Something some other ‘comic directors’ of comic book stories need to really think about – but do not.
It is clear that the makers had the problem of what they bring to the table for Billy and Shazam to deal with, and herein lies the rub. Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren pop up, seemingly out of nowhere to become our antagonists Hespera and Kalypso the daughters of Atlas, along with a really, really obvious third in-disguise sister Anthea (so obvious that they disposed with the subterfuge part of the story early on) and to this end they are very vanilla villains.
As is usual they want ‘something’ and they will do ‘anything’ to get it – including threatening the world and in particular anyone Billy loves. Every villain does this, every villain fails. It was good that the sisters had different ideas of what they should do and how and that they fell out – often this is the group of superheroes that do this.
What is never addressed in this mainly light-hearted tale are the deaths. A lot of people die and not pleasantly in the opening minutes, Mr. Geckle, the headmaster played by stalwart Diedrich Bader, commits suicide in front of Freddie, where it is remarked that ‘Humans are squishy’ I paraphrase, even without any details it is unpleasant. Mr. Geckle was a fairly terrible headmaster, doing nothing when Freddie is beaten up in front of him, but he was nice and no one cares about him once he is murdered. Something that has bothered me in this type of film for a long time. Even Son of Kong way back in the early 20th century tried to answer this.
The story and acting just about keep Fury of the Gods above water although the cliches were piling up. The meet-cute with the world’s worst undercover god, and the psycho school bullies, who by now would be in prison, certainly took me out of the story. It has to be said, once again, why do they make these so long? The bridge rescue set piece could have been cut down or removed with entirely no effect on the story. There is so much filler that does not progress the story or characters, simply there to pad it out.
The effects just about hold up with some…errr…interesting Greek monsters of myth looking a bit strange. The dragon just about works although in some sections you can see where the money was saved, which really is not blaming anyone, it is just a fact of life making even expensive films.
The acting is good throughout and adequate even when it dips. Probably the weakest is a controversial opinion is the two senior thespians Liu and Mirren seemed somewhat miscast and were picking up a cheque. Levi owns his role, although seems to playing somewhat younger than the 18-year-old Billy Batson, which if the story carries on is not going to make sense in further instalments. Does Shazam as the hero being an ‘adult’ stay 12 years old forever, even when Billy Batson turns thirty – which he should in fiction and will in real life? The other adult hero actors are fine, look nice and certainly hold their own against their child versions. You do get the feeling throughout that aside from Freddie and Billy the writers were struggling to find space and time for the other characters.
Shazam Fury of the Gods is watchable and in general is fun but I felt I was watching the start of the law of diminishing returns. I could not help pondering what happens in the next Shazam instalment is going to be weaker.
Part 2 of kids become superheroes by shouting the word ‘shazam’, but without the original’s USP. If you sat through Part 1, you’ll probably be able to sit through the equally undemanding Part 2. It’s kiddie superhero nonsense with as much cgi as you’d expect and the usual bland banter, rousing orchestral score etc. Nothing new here except for Helen Mirren slumming it as a baddie. Move on.
The second Shazam film feels right but at the wrong time. It arrives as the recent news has dropped that James Gunn will be taking over the DC Comics projects at Warner Bros, aiming to craft more optimistic and experimental movies in the future slate. With this tonal shift in mind, all eyes might draw to Shazam as an example, being the one bright beam of hope in the otherwise dreary DCEU. The good news is that Shazam: Fury of the Gods maintains the same chipper sensation as the previous film. The bad news is that it doesn’t exactly improve on it, and probably won’t live to see the DC’s rebirth at the cinema.
Billy Batson remains a likable hero, be it in his form as the young orphan (Asher Angel) or the adult superhero (Zachary Levi) he can transform into with a mere word. His family remains just as adorable when his siblings can play a crucial role now that they all share the same magical powers. Billy’s progression is thankfully not just about questioning being worthy of his powers. It’s about determining whether he still deserves a family as he grows old enough to break free of his flock. It’s not exactly the highest of stakes, given how he found his family in the last film, so much of this feels like a retooled version of Billy’s coming-of-age 2.0.
However, the part of the plot that takes more time could be more compelling. The angry gods Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu) have come to seek revenge on the wizard that killed their father, Atlas. Since the wizard died and gave his powers to Billy and Shazam-family, the gods turn their powers towards the five kids-turned-superheroes, aiming to steal their powers. Their ultimate goal of colonizing Earth to make it their new home is not all that interesting, considering it follows a usual slew of visual effects sights. They take a city hostage, make destructive trees out of the ground, and send generic monsters at our heroes. They do battle, all hope seems lost, a sacrifice is made, and that sacrifice is rewarded.
Thankfully, director David F. Sandberg is smart enough to know that this typical superhero plot is not the film's primary draw. Its more incredible allure lies in the charismatic characters, and they mostly still got the magic. Levi is still a charming and knowing superhero with too much fun with his abilities. The same can’t be said as much for the other characters in Billy’s family, who have mini-arcs of coming out of the closet and obsessing over unicorns. These are not bad arcs, but they feel as small as they did in the first film. Even Billy’s best-friend brother Freddy has geeky love for the superheroes of his world that mostly goes unfulfilled. Like the last film, he’ll get his wish of meeting another core DC Comics superhero, but in another manner where you only get the crossover at a VFX-coated discount.
Fury of the Gods is an okay Shazam sequel that is more impressive in that it manages to hold firm its characters than doing anything all that new with them. The dialogue still has its moments of knowing humor, and there’s a giddy sensation coursing throughout the film of a more inspiring superhero film. It’s a shame that when the mid-credit scene teases a possible team-up with a certain superhero ensemble, not much may come of it if anything. While this aspect doesn’t hinder the rest of the film, it does serve as a firm reminder of why the Snyder-verse version of the DC Comics characters is never coming back. Poor Shazam. You arrived too early for this world and were one of the brightest stars during DC Comics’s darkest hour at the cinema.