Shazam! Fury of the Gods: A Fun Sequel That Puts on the Brakes a Little
The follow-up film of 2023, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, brings back Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster family who are now superheroes themselves using the magic word “Shazam!” This time, they contend with new threats of Daughters of Atlas including Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as the cast. The film has some laughs and exciting action but lacks that same movie magic that made it special in its first series.
The Shazam! Family Grows Up (Sort Of)
Fury of the Gods takes place several years after the original. Billy and his foster siblings have to cope with their dual lives as teenagers and superheroes. The camaraderie between the cast remains a strong point. Zachary Levi perfectly captures a superhero’s inner child trapped within an adult’s body through his well-timed comedic beats with foster siblings, particularly Jack Dylan Grazer’s enthusiastic Freddy Freeman.
However, this time round the film struggles to handle individual character arcs together though. Although family themes such as caring for others are still present, they seem not to be given much attention due to larger scale events happening around them. This is a missed opportunity because one of its strengths was how it conveyed childhood wonder alongside complexities related to foster care.
Clash of the Titans (and Teenagers)
Helen Mirren’s Hespera as portrayed by an aging vampire feels like her face has had too many botox injections while Lucy Liu brings dry humor to Kalypso; however, their motivations seem underdeveloped. Information dumps explain their background which does not flow smoothly throughout the rest of the film.
Among these sequences is a chase scene through magical Las Vegas directed by David F Sandberg. The CGI is good here as well depicting visually stunning mythological creatures and landscapes. The climax is colorful and vibrant, reminiscent of films like Thor: Ragnarok.
Growing Pains for a Superhero Franchise
However, Fury of the Gods falls into the trap of many sequels. It tries but ends up being more loud and bigger than its predecessor thus losing some originality and heart in the process. At times, the plot is quite predictable since it leans too heavily on familiar superhero tropes.
Even though there is still humor, it does not seem to work as well all the time as before. Some jokes are awkwardly constructed and this self-aware meta-humour which was great in the first film feels a bit stale here. The PG-13 rating also means that some raunchier jokes were toned down from what older viewers enjoyed in Shazam!.
Shazam! Still Finds its Shazam!
However, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is just another fun superhero movie that will be quickly forgotten by audiences. It offers enough laughs, action sequences, and heart to satisfy fans of the first film. In addition to this, an all-around amazing cast that cannot help but put a smile on your face while new foes give reasons for future adventures. Nonetheless, there’s something missing; it doesn’t quite recapture its predecessor’s unique charm. It becomes more generic as a superhero sequel with no emotional depth or clever twists that made the first Shazam!’s ride so enjoyable.
You can see the strength of the film from this quick analysis:
Strengths :
The movie features a fun and energetic cast with strong chemistry
There are exciting and visually impressive action sequences
This introduces us to some compelling new villains
Weaknesses :
Character arcs and motivations were underdeveloped
Plot is predictable, relying on superhero tropes
The humor in this particular case tends not to hold as much weight as in the first film.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has been rated as an okay sequel that offers a light entertaining superhero experience. But it doesn’t quite reach up to what the original did.