Review of Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) by Rebecca31 — 31 Mar 2023

I go to see these mediocre superhero movies so you don’t have to. I get a review out of it and you get to spend two hours doing something else, literally anything, it doesn’t matter because it’ll be more fun than Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

So picking up a couple of years from where the first Shazam! left off, Billy Batson and family possess the power of the gods, giving them superhuman abilities. Shazam and family are doing their best to save innocent people from harm and if they cause a bit of destruction along the way well sure it’s not the end of the world. Sure they’re only kids like and they’re trying their best. They were chosen by the wizard after all. But uh oh, here come the daughters of Atlas, enter Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu who are well pissed off because turns out the power of the gods that give the teens their powers was originally stolen from the Titan Atlas by the wizard. So now due to certain events the barrier between the worlds has been broken and here they come to reclaim what is rightfully theirs and now Shazam and family must stop the world from being destroyed etc. etc.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a whole lot of CGI destruction, unfunny jokes and an infuriating manchild. With the first Shazam, Zachary Levi was charming and funny but the same cannot be said for the sequel. He becomes so childishly annoying you’re actually hoping Helen Mirren or Lucy Liu will fry him to pieces just to get him to shut up for five seconds. Yeah, yeah I know he’s a child but you know he’s supposed to be almost 18 now, not eight. The first film had a magical fairy tale quality and lots of heart about it but this sequel is dull, boring and not worth your time.

One of the problems with the conveyor belt of superhero movies being churned out by WB and Disney is more movies with no real danger or peril. Throw in an overall lack of originality and it’s no wonder everyone is feeling the superhero fatigue. Yet fans of superhero movies will always have time for the good movies, we’re just sick and tired of the increasing number of bad movies. Take this one film as an example you’ve got so many things squashed in here that you’ve seen before only better, not only that but there really isn’t any sense the heroes are ever in danger. This happens again and again and I’m at a point now where I’m so bored with these generic superhero movies I need to stop.

Another issue with the Shazam! franchise is due to the DCEU shake down by new management, now with James Gunn running things (not having a go at him, best of luck to him in the new job) but there’s references to things that are dead in the water. So what is the actual point? If it was a good standalone comic book movie then that wouldn’t matter but it’s not because absolutely everything needs to be a tie in with something now, we can’t just have a stripped back comic book movie anymore because god forbid they focus on the actual characters. No, it’s all about destroying the city and a big budget CGI battle scene. Stripped back and/or an original take on comic book movies like Logan or Joker are what cinema audiences want right now because the same thing again and again is boring. Or alternatively if you’re going to go down the road of over the top, packed to the brim with jokes kind of vibe then it will work if it’s actually funny. Sorry lads but an ongoing joke about skittles is an eyerolling moment that takes you right out of the movie and only feels like when you’re watching a youtube video with a random unskippable ad in the middle of it. Frustrating doesn’t cover it.

For anyone wondering, yes there are post credit scenes, two to be exact and no they’re not worth sticking around for, especially the second scene. It was so ridiculous and I’m not even sure they matter anymore, I promise if you wait for them don’t say I didn’t warn you. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is recommended for any fans left of the current DCEU. Though if you’re a fan of the first Shazam! I suggest you lower those expectations.