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‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ review: Dir. David F. Sandberg (2023) 

There are changes afoot at DC studios. With the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new CEOs at DC Studios, the decision was made to wipe most of the slate clean, putting a cap on the Snyderverse and its associated tendrils. In its place, a new take on the likes of Batman, Superman and some of the more obscure characters from the DC comics will be making their way to the screen both big and small. 

But some pieces may yet remain, with the future of certain actors and characters in the DCU still as yet unclear. Among those select cases is Zachary Levi’s Shazam, whose future seems uncertain and dependent on the sequel that was put into production before the changing of the DC guard. 

You do have to feel a bit sorry for Fury of the Gods, then, coming at a time of much-publicised change, where its future as a part of the wider franchise is clouded in uncertainty. But the first Shazam in 2019 did prove to be a surprise, offering a sweet sense of humour and an emotionally engaging story about found families mixed in with the usual superhero antics. Who’s to say the sequel couldn’t be as equally surprising? 

Picking up where the first one left off, 17-year-old Billy- the chosen champion Shazam (Zachary Levi and Asher Angel) – is trying to keep his superfamily together, after having shared the power of transforming into a superhero with his foster siblings. Not only is he dealing with the impending twilight of his teenage years, but he’s also struggling to get his family to operate as a functional superhero unit. Matters are made worse when the daughters of Atlas-  Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler  – are freed from their imprisonment and keen to reclaim the powers stolen from their father. 

Fury of the Gods is much like its predecessor in the way it plays on the chaos that would ensue if a child could become a superhero. With Billy and his siblings largely varied in age, everyone brings their own qualities and naiveness to the role of being a superhero, and the moments where they are all trying to work together are when the film is at its most fun. 

Where it differs from its predecessor is its narrative, which never comes close to matching the size of the heart at the centre of Sandberg’s 2019 original. What was so surprising about that film is how it balanced the silliness with an unexpected level of heart through Billy’s story as a foster kid who can’t quite bring himself to trust a new family. But there is nothing that feels as genuine this time out, with character arcs often coming across as vague and very reliant on cliche. 

You could perhaps put that down to Levi dominating the role of Billy more so this time out than he did in the first, seeing as this installment is undeniably bigger when it comes to the superhero action. There’s less time with the kids and their convincing chemistry and more of a focus on action and fulfilling the perceived expectations of a superhero movie. While the action scenes are well executed, with strong VFX and some fun monster designs, they are largely pretty forgetful. The villain plot itself likewise comes across as unoriginal and not particularly engaging. Mirren, Liu, and Zegler end up feeling quite lost as the film escalates into CG-driven set pieces and perfunctory plotting.

The film is very much the kind of sequel that runs on the idea of bigger equals better. In the case of Fury of the Gods, it sadly comes at the cost of some of the charm of the original’s smaller scale and more genuine emotional arcs. It ends up feeling just like any other run-of-the-mill superhero movie, which is a shame particularly when the first film managed to stand a little apart from the crowd with its more unique point of view.

The main set of heroes remains fun company for the large part, but there is very little sense at the end of the movie that the characters have really grown or all that much has changed. Shazam is the underdog that you’d like to see succeed, but sadly this outing is already out of breath before it has stepped out of the gate. The future of Shazam may remain a question for now, but if this does indeed prove to be this version’s last adventure, you will wish it had had a bit more personality than this.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is released in cinemas on 14th March.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Andrew Gaudion

Film

Summary

Shazam is the underdog that you’d like to see succeed, but sadly this outing is already out of breath before it has stepped out of the gate.

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