The boy who would be a superhero is back with his foster family to take on their biggest threat yet in the sequel to the 2019 superhero film Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
It’s been a few years since teenager Billy Baston (Asher Angel) was given magical powers by the wizard (Djimon Hounsou) and became an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) whenever he says the word “Shazam.” Since sharing the powers with his foster family, Billy and his siblings have become a team, always working together to save the day.
A perfect example of this is when they work together to save people trapped on a collapsing bridge. Unfortunately, they fail to stop the bridge from collapsing. It’s these types of mistakes and miscalculations that have caused the citizens of their city to nickname them The Philadelphia Fiascos.
Billy’s also struggling to try to keep his foster family together and committed to the motto: all or not at all. Either they all work to save the day, or they do not respond to the emergency. Lately, some of his family members have been yearning to go their own way, including Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), who wants to go away to college, and Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer/Adam Brody) who’s anxious to go solo on a superhero save.
The family of superheroes is unaware of the trio of powerful villains that they’ll soon be forced to fight to save the world. Goddesses Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler) – daughters of the god Atlas – have entered this realm and arrived on Earth to retrieve the magical powers the wizard stole from them. They see humans as meek and undeserving beings destined to be ruled and enslaved. Even worse, the evil goddesses have retrieved the magical scepter (the one Billy broke in half at the end of the first film) and have mended it well enough to use against the superheroes.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a goofy, tongue-in-cheek, and sporadically funny superhero romp with a solid message about the importance of family and not holding on too tight. It’s a worthy sequel to the 2019 film, even though it suffers from some flat jokes and too much CGI.
Zachary Levi returns as Shazam, Billy’s adult superhero alter ego who’s struggling to keep both his foster family siblings and his superhero team together as well as live up to the powers he’s been given. Levi’s performance as a big kid with incredible powers is still effective, and his best moments are when he’s playing up the comical and juvenile side of his character.
The film really hits its stride when Freddy and the wizard team up to steal the scepter (and another important object) from the goddesses. Jack Dylan Grazer and Djimon Hounsou make a great dysfunctional team and have strong on-screen buddy chemistry. Grazer and Hounsou steal every scene they’re in together.
Sadly, Helen Mirren’s talents are wasted in the role of Hespera, the eldest of the sisters who is nothing more than a powerful but one-dimensional villain. To have someone of Mirren’s caliber in such a bland role is a waste of true talent.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a fun, silly, and entertaining sequel and a solid entry in the DC superhero universe.
GRADE: B-
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action, language, and violence
Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Release Date:
Directed By: David F. Sandberg
Studio: Warner Bros Pictures
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