With so much set to change for the DC Universe in films, it can be a little hard to stay invested in anything new that releases. But Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a good time that doesn’t do much to change anything, but revels in its goofiness and theme of family. While there are a few heartwarming and emotional moments, the second Shazam movie won’t do much to change the minds of those already checked out of the DCEU. Luckily, you can still have a decently fun adventure with Billy Batson and his mighty family in this average superhero outing.
After the events of the previous Shazam! movie, Billy and his foster family continues life as young teens while occasionally saving people as superheroes. But far out in Greece, a group of ancient gods named the daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso, steal a magical scepter from a museum. The group is trying to take back the magic power of their father that was taken from them by the wizard Shazam many years prior. This puts them on a relentless hunt for Billy and his family, using the scepter to steal their powers and use it for themselves. What follows is a series of magical clashes and goofy moments involving magical creatures, ancient Greek goddesses, and a boy coming to terms with changing times.
Despite the cheeky humor and magical fights on the surface, this Shazam! the sequel has an emotional ancho that is present throughout the film. Zachary Levi is a joy to see goof off on screen as the mighty mortal kicking bad guy butt, with a lot of jokes that land more often than not. Young Billy Batson, played once again by Asher Angel, is where you’ll get a lot of the heart of the film. Billy is worried that everything in his life is going to change, with each of his family going on with their lives and him needing to move on.
It’s something that us in the audience can relate to and understand as the young teen struggles to balance his home life and his super hero activities. While everything reaches a good conclusion by the end, a lot of this emotion gets overshadowed by the silly humor and big action scenes for most of the film, only to come back to it again at the finale.
Billy’s family gets more screen time to shine. We see everyone more often in their powered-up forms, even though the kids do get a few great moments here and there. A lot of attention is given to Freddy Freeman, Billy’s disabled foster brother, and his growing relationship with Anne, played by Rachel Zegler. The two have a fun chemistry on-screen during moments at Billy’s school and when Freddy isn’t powered up. There’s some great dialogue between the two, which culminates into some heartwarming and cute moments by the end of the film. Some of the twists along the way might be very obvious to everyone watching, but they lead to some feel-good moments that work.
The rest of the Shazam family isn’t focused on too much in comparison, even though each member has their own quirks throughout. Mary is worried about going to college, Pedro discovers his identity and love for baseball, Eugene loves his video games, and Darla is just as bubbly about everything as before.
There isn’t a lot of conflict between Billy and the Family, despite a few disagreements and small arguments. A lot of the clashing is reserved for the family going against the daughters of Atlus. It may have helped to see Billy and his family hit a lower point with their relationship during the film, making when they come together against Hespera and Kalypso all the stronger. But that doesn’t take away the better moments from when they are together and in sync.
If you were hoping for some big DCEU connections here, then you may find Shazam! Fury of the Gods to be shallow. While there are some passing mentions of heroes like Batman, Aquaman, and the Flash in a few scenes, there are not many DCEU nods until the very end. We see that Billy has a crush on Wonder Woman early on and it comes full circle at the very end. However, this happens with a very awkward reveal that seems good at first but lingers on the shock value of it for too long. The reasoning for her appearance is also questionable, even by the film’s own logic.
It’s as if the movie is waiting for applause and excitement to Wonder Woman’s reveal but instead comes off as awkward. It’s not a bad surprise, but it definitely could’ve been handled a little better. At the same time, there are two post-credit sequences that are both funny and interesting yet still feel a bit hollow because of what has changed with the DCEU. They’ll get a laugh when they happens, but will ultimately be seen as teases without a real payoff to look forward to.
Although better than its predecessor, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is an average superhero story that can still be fun to watch. It won’t impact the way most see DC superhero films as a whole, but it also won’t make you think worse of them either. When viewed as its own movie, it’s a story with strong family themes that also happens to litter in some superhero fun and a few good jokes. It would be nice to have a better outlook on the future of Shazam as a whole in relation to the greater DC universe films, but who knows if anything will happen next. Even if this is the last time we see this version of Shazam, at least it went out on a good note.
Did you get a chance to see Shazam! Fury of the Gods yet? What do you think will come next for the DC Universe in movies? Tell us everything in the comments below!
