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SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS
Director: David F. Sandberg Cast: Zachary Levi, Jack Dylan Grazer, Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, Asher Angel, Adam Brody, Grace Caroline Currey, Ross Butler, Ian Chen, Meagan Good, Faithe Herman, D.J. Cotrona, Jovan Armand, Djimon Hounsou, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 2:10 Release Date: 3/17/23 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 16, 2023 They kept Shazam just weird and sincere enough, which might be enough, but there's little avoiding that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a significant step down from its predecessor. The original film was fun in ways that it seemed superhero movies had been actively avoiding at the time. In the process of joking about the inherent silliness and formulaic conventions of the genre, the first film also tapped into the simple joy and greater aspirations of the superhero fantasy. It was nice while it lasted, at least. The sequel, co-written by returning screenwriter Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, loses the purity and simplicity of its predecessor. This one gives us a plot that's more of a burden than a reason to further explore the unique situation of this particular superhero and the appealing cast of characters the first film established. Such is the usual way of sequels: Everything must be bigger—from the threat, to the stakes, to the chaos of the third act. If one assumed Gayden and returning director David F. Sandberg understood that their superhero worked better on a smaller scale, here's the unfortunate fact either that they didn't or that a franchise of superhero tales won't allow such simple things to remain as they are—and, maybe, as they should. Otherwise, the jovial tone does keep this film from becoming overburdened by the apparent requirements of a sequel. It starts strongly, with Shazam, the adult and super-powered form of our protagonist played by Zachary Levi, struggling with what kind of hero he's supposed to be. Every other superhero has some neat gimmick or defining characteristic, but he's still not entirely sure what his superhero name should be. Meanwhile, his younger alter ego Billy Baston (Asher Angel) is struggling with the fact that he's about to turn 18. With that milestone, he will age out of the foster system, which has finally given him a home and a family for the first time in his life. The first film found the right balance between the non-super teen and his powerful other version, but the screenplay here almost seems to want us to forget that there's a scared, insecure kid beneath the guise of the Shazam figure. That's a mistake, which becomes especially clear in a late moment between Billy and his foster mother Rosa (Marta Milans). There's still a lot for this teen, the real character when you get right down to it, to work through and room for him to grow, and the character's absence is definitely felt in this entry. That feeling is emphasized but slightly assuaged by the fact that Billy's family does play such a significant role here. As one should recall from the previous film, Billy/Shazam granted his foster siblings super-powers, too, and now, they're a team of heroes, trying their best to do good—and regularly accomplishing it—but bungling certain things—giving the team the nickname the "Philly Fiascoes." Watching these youthful but deceptively adult heroes bond and bicker their way through missions and rundowns of how they could improve their teamwork is quite a bit of fun. It helps that the actors, especially Adam Brody as the superhero version of Billy's best friend/foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Meagan Good as the adult transformation of the youngest sibling Darla (Faithe Herman), make for a fine comedic team of semi-bumbling heroes. None of this simple fun lasts, unfortunately. The bigger plot involves the return of the Daughters of Atlas from a lengthy imprisonment. Two of them are Hespera (Helen Mirren), who forms a mystical barrier around a section of Philadelphia, and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), who can control minds. The third sister has something to do with Ann (Rachel Zegler), a new girl at school who forms a quick and sweet attachment with Freddy. Their plan is to use the magical staff of the not-actually-dead Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to bring the realm of myth to the modern world or something like that. It's nonsense, of course, but at least Shazam and his other foster brothers/superhero teammates cut to the core of what really matters to a bunch of kids who hear about this: There's a dragon involved. It's a major threat, of course, but it's also, you know, a dragon, which is just as exciting as it is terrifying. Yes, there's still quite a bit of humor that carries this neat (The sight of mythical creatures emerging from cocoons and wreaking havoc in the city results in some wicked amusement) but foundationally formulaic plot. The tone means a lot to the basic success of the third act, especially since the visual effects overwhelm some of the cohesion of the action and the family takes a backseat (literally when the family van becomes involved) to Shazam becoming the kind of hero who can stand toe-to-toe with the others in this franchise (One cameo from a particular superhero makes more sense as a fantasy than as a plot device, but this story is obviously trying to place Shazam in a position within this superhero universe). As was the case with the first film, the willingness of Shazam! Fury of the Gods to do something different goes a long way. The sequel, though, makes more missteps and is missing the innocent, aspirational core that elevated its predecessor. In other words, the long way of the jokey tone of this film can only take the material so far. Copyright © 2023 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for sequences of action and violence, and language)
