Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review!

 Alright! Today I'm reviewing Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to the criminally underrated 2019 superhero flick Shazam!, which told the story of how Billy Batson, an orphaned child, was given the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury, and the ability to turn into a powerful adult version of himself upon saying the acronym: "SHAZAM!"

Because superhero movies gotta superhero and cinematic universes gotta universe, four years later we get Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which continues the story of the Shazam family as they fight the daughters of Atlas in a battle to keep their powers, and, of course, to save the world. That's a cool idea - the remnants of the ancient Greek culture getting angry at these teenagers inheriting what remains and coming to take it back, kind of like Killmonger in Black Panther but more mythical and Greek. 

Does the movie do anything with that? No, not really. It mostly leads to several MacGuffins and action scenes where powers are stolen and given back and stolen again, making for a rather repetitive viewing experience. Now, at no point during the runtime did I look at my watch and think to myself "Man, this movie is taking forever to end." It just felt a lot longer than it should've been, unfocused and cluttered with unspecial action scenes. It's enjoyable, but even something enjoyable has a point of diminishing returns. 

There are particular aspects about Fury of the Gods I rather liked - there was an adorable romcom starring Rachel Zegler and Jack Dylan Grazer buried underneath all of the Shazam-ing, and when the movie focused on those two it shined brightly. Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman was the MVP, the heart and soul of the narrative that I wished the movie focused more on. I also appreciated that Freddy Freeman's child form and adult form felt like the same character to an extent no one else's adult form did. 

I also appreciated the direct responses to criticisms leveled at the first movie. We all noticed in Shazam! that Billy Batson's child form was starkly grimmer compared to his jovial adult form. Fury of the Gods directly answered that criticism by having Asher Angel try and match Zachary Levi's lightheartedness, although they simultaneously answered that criticism by largely writing Billy Batson out of the movie and focusing only on his superhero alter-ego. They also reference the apparent lack of Solomon's wisdom, although they never pay off those jokes in any meaningful way by showing Billy's wise side. It's all fun and games until the very end. 

There end the specifics I liked about the movie, and all that remains is my overall inclination to like DC movies solely on goodwill and bias from years of Justice League Unlimited viewing. I did have nitpicks about the movie - early on a character growth moment sticks out like a sore thumb (Billy doesn't call his foster mom "mom," which he then does before the final battle for a cheap emotional payoff). I also wasn't a fan of how this movie, even more than its predecessor, had a surprising amount of edge. While I appreciate a good edge on a kids' movie, this felt like a version of The Boys where the gory deaths are off-screen. Background extras die in terrible ways throughout the entire runtime, and the Shazam family making jokes while it happens undercuts and belittles the tragedy in a way reminiscent of Harley Quinn. It's still PG-13, but in a way that feels like an edited R unsuited for a Shazam movie (As evident by the opening scene that very well could have been civilians animalistically tearing each other apart but was instead them shaking as Ancient Greek was whispered into their ear and spreading like a Last of Us infection). 

The aspect I liked least, however, and the thing that completely threw the movie off was Wonder Woman (A TV spot revealed the cameo and you probably forgot the movie already, so I don't feel particularly bad about spoiling this tidbit). Essentially, like every Captain Marvel story, Billy has to defeat the big bad by spamming “Shazam!” and summoning a giant lightning bolt and dying. Cool, right? Always works. Except here, after an emotional funeral, we see a pair of boots, a slow-mo glory shot, and the Wonder Woman theme absolutely blaring as she proceeds to undercut the payoffs, emotion, and stakes the movie has by resurrecting Billy Batson (A thing she can do, apparently). It was the only interesting thing the movie had done and poof - just like that. Gone. Cool to see Billy and Wonder Woman interacting, but I wish the entire movie was a team-up or that she had not shown up at all.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is, paired with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, what I'd define as the first real evidence of superhero fatigue. Not only are the movies becoming increasingly lackluster, but they're also starting to make significantly less than they once did. Underperforming box office, shaky CGI, and the sheer number of them make each feel less like a fun "For the nerds but cool enough for date night!" event and more like "The sequel to the thing you liked that's a spin-off from the sequel to the thing you liked." 

Overall, I'd say it's worth the ticket price, but if you'd rather watch John Wick: Chapter 4, Dungeons and Dragons, or The Super Mario Bros. Movie later this month, you're not missing much by skipping it. 

Overall, I give Shazam! Fury of the Gods a 6/10. "Shazam! Fury of the Gods is what you'd expect from a sequel - more of what you liked in the first one, but worse in every way." 

Still can't shake the feeling that both Asher Angel and Zachary Levi are too old to play their characters.