“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” lands the plane
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” was released on March 17 and tells the story of Billy Batson. He worries if he has to move on from his foster family due to aging out of the foster system. During this turmoil, a trinity of gods come to take back what looks like a mistake in Billy’s past.
This is one of the last movies that will be released in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) before the big reboot happens under James Gunn and Peter Safran. Because of that, it’s hard for people to care enough to go see this movie, but I think it offers more than just connecting to a story that’s coming to an end as this is a wildly entertaining comic book movie.
The movie currently has a 51% critic score and an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This is interesting as the first “Shazam!” has a 90% critic score but an 82% audience score, and I like this just as much, if not more, than the first one. I don’t understand how the sequel is getting worse reception; it gets the job done at being a fun, escapist time at the movies.
You can tell that the returning cast members are having fun and I couldn’t help having fun too. The action is much bigger in this film than in the first one which is for the better as it brings higher stakes and intrigue to the story progression. The standout is still Zachary Levi chewing up the scenery with his charm and passion. I really liked seeing Rachel Zegler in this after her breakout role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” She was very effective in this movie and I’m glad she has a lot of work on the way, according to IMDb.
The VFX, although spotty at times, was very well done and really achieved the escapism that should always come with these movies. Aside from what the trailer might depict, the movie is pretty funny with most of the humor coming from the situations characters find themselves in.
What makes movies like these work is that no one feels out of place. Everyone knows what kind of movie they’re in and embraces it. Because of that, I didn’t feel any tones trying to mix in with the light, family tone in a way that didn’t work. It also has an emotional hook to the third act that did a great job in elevating the falling action.
Although the villains get the job done, I didn’t find them to be interesting past the reveal of their goals. They certainly have a presence and I like their dynamics, but after a while they’re just evil villains doing evil villain things. Lastly, there’s a lot to enjoy and respect about this sequel but there’s a lot of familiarity with this to the likes of its predecessor and comic book movies as a whole.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” does not bring much new to the table, but it still succeeds in its goal of being a fun, family-friendly time. A movie that achieves its goal is a movie I find it hard to hate on so I’ll give this a solid 3.5/5.
“It’s a fun kids movie. If you go into it with a good attitude, you’ll enjoy it.” 2.7/5 – David Keledjian, Senior
“Funny to say the least.” 2.5/5 – Leticia Reis, Senior
