Courtney Howard // Film Critic
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS
Rated PG-13, 130 min.
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Caroline Currey, Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Marta Milans, Djimon Hounsou, Cooper Andrews, Jovan Armand, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, D.J. Cotrona, Ross Butler
With all its wit and skillful might, the first SHAZAM! film was a breath of fresh air for the DCEU. Endearing, electric and entertaining in equal measure, it struck a chord. Director David F. Sandberg’s spectacle-driven follow-up feature, SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS, is pretty much on par with its predecessor, ramping up the action and irreverence to a delightful degree. A super solid, super fun and super smart blend of hilarity, heart and heroics — it’s a super-powered sequel that packs a punch. Lightning strikes twice for this series. It’s also home to my favorite line reading of the year, delivered by Helen Mirren (ahem, your move, FAST X).
In this next chapter in Shazam’s saga, teen alter-ego Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is worried about the gifts he’s been given, both his superhuman abilities (in the body of Zachary Levi) and his place in a newfound family. So much so, his anxieties are bleeding into the team’s work. He feels his squad fracturing and holding on too tightly, causing their superhero efforts to suffer. It’s a tough scenario, given Philadelphia already has labeled them “The Philly Fiascos” thanks to their destruction caused by their last face-off with a Big Baddie. But unbeknownst to the city and its superhero protectors, a new threat is rising.
The Daughters of Atlas – Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Anthea (Rachel Zegler) – are on a quest to destroy humankind as their realm was thrown into chaos once the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) begat a new Shazam with the power of the Gods and those powers were dispersed amongst his foster brothers and sisters – Eugene (Ian Chen/ Ross Butler), Pedro (Jovan Armand/ D.J. Cotrona), Darla (Faithe Herman/ Meagan Good), Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer/ Adam Brody) and Mary (Grace Caroline Currey). And the terrible trio wants those powers returned to take over the world.
Screenwriters Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan layer in the comedy, comic book lore and emotional resonance with artful craft and care. A lot is going on within the narrative, and one pivotal character’s motives flip-flop so many times they put in a line that cracks wise about it. Still, it all comes together in a gloriously berserk third act that features a mythical monsterpalooza, a badass dragon, a well-earned sacrifice and Skittles. From the mismatched buddy cop dynamic between young Freddy and the Wizard (that heightens the picture’s comedic drive) to the chat between Shazam and Hespera (where she dispels the compelling reasons why she’s fighting, enhancing the dramatic crux), the filmmakers efficiently modulate tone to make it all work within the universe. There’s also a cameo that sufficiently pulls double duty.
Threading together thematic throughlines from the first dealing with family, identity and destiny helps bolster those in this iteration centered on abandonment and legacy. Mirren and Liu’s powerhouse performances strengthen the proceedings. Their baddie’s quest carries real-world relevance – specifically Kalypso’s powers of causing chaos through whispered disinformation – in addition to feeling equally as palpable as the fear driving Billy’s actions. Plus, there’s a genuinely sweet, though slight, relationship Billy builds with his adoptive mom Rosa (Marta Milans), that harkens back to the first film and, now here, pays out like a Vegas slot machine.
With an ensemble cast that brings out the best in each other (where every actor is given the spotlight) and the material (Mirren delivering a line about Gatorade like it’s Shakespeare!), and immersive visual effects that make a cool AF dragon come alive (one Liu rides like a heavy metal queen!), there’s not much more audiences could ask for in a sequel.
Grade: B+
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS opens in theaters on March 17.
