Billy Batson is again in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, a sequel to the 2019 superhero movie Shazam. This new film within the DC Universe follows the foster household of superheroes who can flip from kids to superpowered adults with the shout of 1 phrase. After the enjoyable success of the unique movie, director David F. Sandberg returns to offer us one other journey. This superhero action-comedy is a stable sequel to the unique, providing a constantly entertaining tone with a couple of rougher edges than its predecessor.
After defeating Dr. Sivana and changing into superheroes within the first movie, the Shazamily has had a polarizing response in Philadelphia, with many calling them out for his or her incompetence. The screenplay provides a humorous concept from the get-go, displaying how the children may very well be higher at being superheroes. They’re all a bit of older than they had been within the first movie, however they nonetheless have lots to study, which is proven by an early motion sequence on a bridge the place the heroes save many lives however fail to cease the bridge from collapsing. The power is the distinctiveness of a household of foster children working collectively to struggle crime.
With a brand new movie comes a brand new set of baddies, because the film introduces Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), the daughters of Atlas who’re after the household’s powers. This dynamic demented duo is formidable, providing star energy and threatening performances as highly effective sisters who pose a grave risk to our heroes. They possess the powers of thoughts management and taking away superpowers, making the necessity to cease them much more important, as they aren’t solely after the household, however additionally they pose a risk to the world.
This sequel coasts off the lighthearted, humorous tone of the primary movie, with the solid giving wonderful performances. Zachary Levi‘s comedic timing as Shazam is implausible. Whereas he doesn’t all the time absolutely embody an older Asher Angel, the bridge works higher on this film than within the authentic movie. He will get among the funniest moments within the film whereas additionally bringing some emotional weight to the character. Jack Dylan Grazer can also be hilarious on this film, getting many moments to shine as a standout character. As well as, he receives a romance subplot with Anne (Rachel Zegler), which is well-performed, however, sadly, appears like an inorganic romance straight out of a Disney Channel film.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods takes lots of the concepts arrange within the authentic movie and brings it up a notch, elevating the stakes and giving us extra of the motion and comedy you count on from this movie. The film could be very fast-paced, all the time supplying you with one thing enjoyable to take a look at. But, this will likely even be the movie’s basic flaw, as there’s a trace of drama surrounding Billy’s worry of rising out of the foster system and being on his personal. This concept wanted to be explored extra for the profound moments to have the emotional weight they might.
Moreover, the movie doesn’t go within the path you count on, as many of the Shazamily doesn’t take part within the closing act. As an alternative, it’s primarily Shazam alone for the ultimate motion set piece. Whereas the opposite characters play one other function within the final act, their sequence feels a lot smaller than what was arrange that it’s straightforward to neglect it existed inside the movie.
Nevertheless, Shazam! Fury of the Gods stays a breezy, entertaining superhero movie with a sturdy set of heroes and villains. It’s not the strongest DCU outing, and it doesn’t attain the heights of its predecessor, however you’ll have an pleasurable time on the theater.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s overview coverage explains, a rating of 8 equates to “Nice.” Whereas there are a couple of minor points, this rating implies that the artwork succeeds at its objective and leaves a memorable affect.