Shazam! Fury of the Gods
This sequel feels more coherent and tonally consistent than the first instalment, but arguably plays things a little bit safer too. Thankfully, it’s still just as funny as the first film, with plenty of humour to undercut the super-heroics and maintain its sense of fun.
Premise: Teenager Billy Batson is embracing life as his (still unnamed) superhero alter ego (Zachary Levi), while also attempting to find his feet as the de facto leader of his super-powered foster family. But when the Daughters of Atlas from Greek mythology (Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu) hatch a plan to restore magic to the Gods’ Realm, it threatens not only Billy’s family but also the entire mortal world.
Review:
I enjoyed 2019’s first Shazam! movie, but I did have some issues with it, not least of which was that I thought the tone was all over the place, veering from juvenile humour one minute, to scenes which may be too scary for younger viewers the next. Thankfully, Shazam! Fury of the Gods seems to have tackled this issue head on.
Tonally, this sequel is far more coherent, with a lot of the rougher/scarier edges sanded off in comparison to the first film. As a result, it’s much more of a ‘traditional’ superhero adventure, complete with a by-the-numbers introductory scene showing off the threat posed by the new villains, followed by an opening rescue scene re-establishing the heroes, leading to the inevitable confrontation between the two sides at the end of act one. That’s not to say that Shazam! Fury of the Gods isn’t a lot of fun (it is), or that it doesn’t have any surprises (if does) - but if you particularly liked the horror-tinged tone of the first movie, you may find this sequel a little more ‘vanilla’ in comparison. Of course, given that I didn’t enjoy the inconsistent tonal shifts in the first film, I found the more traditional approach in the sequel was actually more enjoyable.
“…Helen Mirren & Lucy Liu are clearly having a lot of fun…”
Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu get a decent amount to do as the film’s main antagonists, and unlike Mark Strong in the first film, they don't have to play second-fiddle to a bunch of CGI monsters for large parts of the film. They’re both clearly having a lot of fun playing large-than-life demi-gods, and Helen Mirren in particular is continuing her run of unexpectedly fun appearances in popcorn blockbuster movies – and amusingly, Fury of the Gods not only has a direct reference to the Fast & Furious films (that Helen Mirren appears in), but it’s also co-written by Chris Morgan (who’s written all but three of the movies in the Fast & Furious franchise).
One of the other quibbles that I had with the first film is that there seemed to be a disconnect between Billy-as-an-adult played by Zachary Levi, and Billy-as-a-teenager played by Asher Angel. Both were good in their respective roles, but I never got a sense that they were actually playing the same character (or even a more confident version of the same character). Although that is still the case in this sequel, it’s arguably less of an issue in Fury of the Gods, ironically, because Billy Batson seems to spend a lot less time on screen in his teenage form, adopting his adult form even when he’s just chilling with his foster family in their lair at the Rock of Eternity. That said, although he only gets a handful of scenes on screen, Asher Angel makes the most of them and is responsible for some of the film’s most emotional moments, which probe the insecurities behind his outwardly confident façade.
“…Billy’s foster family remain a lot of fun & manage to convey a real sense of their familial bonds…”
Once again, the teenage character that gets the most to do is Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy’s foster brother Freddie. Freddie is enjoying life as his superhero alter ego (Adam Brody) even more than Billy is initially – and ironically, Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody are more convincing at playing different versions of the same character than Zachary Levi and Asher Angel are. But things change for Freddie once he meets new high school student Anne (played by Rachel Zegler), as his attentions start to be drawn elsewhere. The rest of Billy’s foster family are all a lot of fun to spend time with, and they manage to convey a real sense of their familial bonds with their limited screentime, both in their adult superhero forms (where Meagan Good arguably still gets the most laughs as Super Hero Darla) and in their ‘normal’ forms. It’s never expressly explained why, in this film, Grace Caroline Currey plays both Mary’s teenage and super hero forms, but I think the implication is that now that she has turned 18, her form doesn’t change when she transforms into her superhero identity (which arguably also ties into the lore from Black Adam too).
Ironically, the questions over a lack of clear identity pervade the movie generally. For the duration of both movies, Zachary Levi’s superhero character doesn’t actually have an official name, which is bizarre if you really think about it. Without getting into spoilers, Djimon Hounsou is back in some capacity in this sequel, but it’s still not entirely clear whether or not his name is actually ‘Shazam’ (despite him referring to that as being his name in the first film), and he’s just referred to as ‘the wizard’ in this movie. Does any of this really matter? Probably not. But the confusion over what we should call the main character is arguably indicative of the movie’s lack of a clear identity generally – both movies seem to have sat oddly on the outside of the ‘main’ DC Extended Universe, and with the upcoming soft reboot for the new DC Universe on its way, it remains to be seen how or if these character fit into any future plans.
“…more playful & fun, with some great comedic moments…”
But look, it sounds like I’m quite down on Fury of the Gods, and the truth is, I’m really not, and I actually enjoyed it more than the first film, to be honest. This sequel is arguably more playful and fun, and has some great comedic moments (which I won’t spoil here, but a number of them involve a magical pen) as well as some genuinely emotional beats. The action is inventive and easier to follow (compared to the murky grey CGI smoke monsters of the first film), and some of the beasties that appear were a great deal of fun. The plot contains a handful of developments that I did not see coming, and the ending went in a direction I was not expecting.
Overall, there really is a lot to enjoy in this sequel, even if it ultimately is a second-tier superhero movie in the grand scheme of things. But if you’re in the mood for some light-hearted, comedic superhero antics that (unlike the first film) the whole family can enjoy, this was a surprisingly fun way to spend a couple of hours.
Oh, and make sure you stick around for the two end credit scenes – they may not change your life, but they’re both amusing enough.
