“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” Review
Zachary Levi stars in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” as the adult superhero alter ego of the teenaged Billy Batson (Asher Angel).
At a time when films based on DC Comics were coming across as too dark and moody, 2019’s “Shazam!” was a welcomed change of pace with its bright color, good humor and a strong sense of family at its core. After the film’s surprise success, the sequel has finally arrived and, while not as fresh as the first, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” has more than enough fun to go around and still manages to capture the spirit of the original.
In Philadelphia, a young teenager named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) was chosen by a wizard to be given godlike superpowers to defend the world. By saying the wizard’s name, Shazam, Billy is able to turn into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) while still retaining the immaturity and heart of a child. Two years after defeating an evil mad scientist and sharing his powers with his foster siblings, Billy and his family must contend with a new threat to the City of Brotherly Love. When the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler) come to take the Shazam family’s powers and wreak havoc on the world, Billy and his siblings must come together and save Philly.
What made the first film so enjoyable was that it was essentially a story of finding a family. Seeing Billy not only contend with superpowers but also trying to fit in with his foster siblings was what grounded the film in an identifiable dilemma. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” continues exploring the issues of family by having Billy and his siblings now be superheroes which comes with its own challenges. As they grow up, Billy’s siblings all want to pursue other interests and go off on their own journeys both as heroes and in their everyday lives. With Billy having been abandoned as a child and just now having found a solid family unit, he’s quite apprehensive to this.
Its scenes where Billy and his siblings interact that make this film so engaging. Whether he’s a child or in his adult hero form, Asher Angel and Zachary Levi are both incredibly charismatic. Yes we’ve seen plenty of young people become superheroes like Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Dick Grayson and Victor Stone but, oftentimes, these characters become heroes for a moral reason. Billy Batson and his siblings are heroes because it’s fun and the excitement they get from saving people is infectious.
The chemistry of this superpower family is what makes “Shazam!” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” stand out amongst the massive amount of superhero films.
What’s reassuring about “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is how apparent it is that the filmmakers love these characters. This isn’t just some film to satisfy a company’s quota. It’s a fun story about family and the comradery of these characters is outstanding with the film’s child actors and their flying alter egos all being played with super strength.
In particular, Jack Dylan Grazer’s performance as Freddy Freeman almost steals the show from Billy, who he considers his best friend as well as his brother. While Freddy likes turning into a superhero (Adam Brody), especially since he’s a big science-fiction/fantasy/comic book nerd, he would like to do so on his own sometimes and feels suffocated by the constant attention he gets from his family.
But the Shazam family isn’t the only group suffering from dysfunction. The film’s villains, The Daughters of Atlas, seek to annihilate the human world for their sins against the gods of old. At least, some of them do. The youngest daughter, Anthea (Rachel Zegler), isn’t quite set on destroying humanity, especially when she becomes friends with Freddy. While the motivations of the villains are a bit murky, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu add quite a bit of intimidation and humor to their performances making for worthy adversaries for the Shazam family. As for Zegler, she’s quite charming as her character is torn between family duty and her personal feelings.
Since these powerful metahumans are really just supercharged children, you’d think that this would result in quite a bit of good humor. You’d be correct because these kids just love what they’re doing, even if they’re not doing it well. While Billy and his family are great at saving lives, they do have a problem with collateral damage and have even been dubbed the “Philly Fiasco” by the press. With heroes that shoot lightning out of their hands, a dragon that inspires tremendous fear and a strong comedic sense throughout, the film’s action sequences manage to stand out in a genre that seems to have a new film in theaters every month.
But while all the pieces are there for a fun time at the movies, and they come together quite well, it just doesn’t feel like anything new is being added to this part of the DC Universe. I think that if you already like these characters and this set-up for the story, then you’ll be as entertained as I was. However, if you’re looking for a sequel that takes what the original did and just goes in a different direction, this won’t blow your mind.
