Shazam!: Fury of the Gods is the sequel to the 2019 film Shazam!, directed by David F. Sanberg. Sanberg is a director I greatly admire as he is a YouTuber turned Hollywood director, and he impressed me even more when he made such an endearing and heartfelt blockbuster with Shazam!; however, I was dreading this sequel as the marketing was not promising in any way. The sequel looked like a movie that the audience has seen countless times, and in an era where a superhero movie or show comes out every week, we have no room for safe and derivative superhero films. And to my dismay, Shazam! Fury of the Gods met those dreadful expectations.
The sequel takes place a few years after the original, and we pick up with Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who seems to be comfortably fighting crime with his Shazam family; however, the public views them more as screw-ups. This coincides with Billy’s internal struggle with imposter syndrome, as numerous other superheroes can do Billy’s job and do it much better. Unfortunately, Billy’s concerns don’t stop with his life as a superhero; he is also turning eighteen and is concerned with aging out of the foster system and, ultimately, fearing being alone once more. Billy is trying to hold on as tightly as possible to his newfound family and is deeply paranoid about his family moving in other directions.
On paper, this all sounds like a great direction for a sequel. There is plenty of human struggles for Billy to overcome in this film, but despite so much going on for the protagonist, Billy is still hard to find interesting. A significant reason is a dichotomy between Billy and his superhero counterpart (Zachary Levi). Zachary Levi and Asher Angel do not feel like they are playing the same character; they think entirely differently personality-wise. Asher Angel plays a nearly 18-year-old Billy, who seems pretty tepid, more mature, and slightly controlling. When Billy turns into a superhero, Zachary Levi plays the character as quirky, loud, emotional, and even charmingly dumb at times. It doesn’t seem to be a creative choice to have Billy feel more stern and mature as a kid and more alive and child-like as a superhero, although that could be interesting. There is no reason to suspect this is a purposeful choice for the character; it just feels like an oversight in the writing and direction.
Billy Batson is also hardly in the movie. 80-85% of the film is Zachary Levi as Billy, which feels poetic because it shows precisely what is wrong with the movie. It is Superhero first, humanity second. A considerable charm to the first film is Billy being a kid, simply trying to search for his Mother, which grants Asher Angel a lot of screen time. There is one scene that had me emotional, which is between Asher Angel’s Billy Batson and his foster mom (Marta Milans) where they have an authentic moment addressing Billy’s abandonment issues. Unfortunately, these scenes are incredibly sparse, and it made me miss the first Shazam! even more.
Billy’s flawed character is significantly hampered because the person who steals the movie is Freddie (Jack Dylan Grazer). Freddie and his superhero counterpart (Adam Brody) feel like the same person. There is no jarring switch when Freddie turns into a superhero, but ironically, I wish I got more of Adam Brody as a superhero. The idea of an insecure disabled kid being able to turn into a superhero to feel more alive also seems like a far more interesting character to delve into. Jack Dylan Grazer also plays Freddie in a way that’s so likable, earnest, and kind; while simultaneously being able to pull off the more dramatic scenes.
Freddie also has an exciting and somewhat off-putting relationship with Anthea (Rachel Zegler), who plays somewhat of an antagonist. Speaking of the villains, they are one of the weak shining points in the movie. Anthea’s sisters Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren) want to seek vengeance on humanity and restore their old realm. While Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren are both excellent actors, the villains they play are ridiculously shallow and by the numbers. Their motives are shockingly primary and do not get much character depth outside their primary motivations.
By the time the climax arrived, I felt underwhelmed since the climactic battle revolves around whether the protagonist will make it out alive. I knew Billy was never in danger because he’s the titular character, and D.C. would most definitely wish to use these characters more in the future. I admit this isn’t mainly the movie’s fault, though, and this outside perspective does ruin it. The ending does pack some emotional punch, but it is entirely ruined by a nonsensical and ridiculous cameo at the end. It’s a completely random deus ex machina and soiled what could have been an emotional end to the film and the Shazam! franchise.
Part of me is somewhat glad that this movie is underperforming critically and is projected to underperform financially. It shows the industry that this type of Superhero film is no longer acceptable and that studios must try harder. One theory people have for this movie’s underperforming is that the superhero genre is too packed, which can lead to fatigue. I reject this theory for a couple of reasons, though.
The superhero genre does not exist; there is no such thing as a genre of a superhero movie. I do not believe the phrase “Superhero fatigue” either. There’s nothing to mainly get sick of in terms of superheroes because the beauty of these types of films is that they can tell any story, with any genre, and be unique in their way. There is, however, such a thing as mediocre fatigue. Too often these days, superhero films are falling into a formula of fighting generic bad guys and are engulfed with CGI nonsense. The surprise factor is what the cameo will be and how it will tie into a bigger picture. The Superhero Film industry is losing the core value of why a movie should exist, which is put, to tell a good and meaningful story.
I sympathize with Sanberg because this film has a heart, albeit it can be hard to find. In an alternate universe, we got a movie that’s central focus was Billy’s past trauma of abandonment and who is simultaneously able to flesh out a meaningful character arc where Billy realizes that he is good enough in a world filled with various other superheroes. Unfortunately, it’s buried beneath a slew of Superhero tropes, heavy exposition, and an emphasis on spectacle over storytelling.
Despite many criticisms of the film, I wouldn’t label it as “bad.” The movie can be pretty entertaining as it’s very well-paced, action-packed, and never leaves me at a point where I would be bored. The comedy in the film mainly works, with one scene involving a written letter being the standout. The cast and crew also have great chemistry together, so if there is a future for Shazam in this upcoming D.C. slate, I wouldn’t mind it. The problems don’t lie so much in the characters themselves (although Billy could use a bit of improvement), and I think there could be more potential for them. All in all, the film isn’t that bad and isn’t undeserving of a viewing.
Score: 2.5/5
Despite my many criticisms, the movie is not all that bad, but again, that is precisely the issue. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is concerningly derivative. There is nothing worse than a movie not being all that bad or all that great. This is a harmless two-hour, family-fun, action-packed film in a vacuum. However, as a whole, this movie is incredibly dangerous to the Superhero Film climate as it shows general audiences that they’re not worth watching. The prevalent issue is when a good Superhero film does eventually come out, not many people may want to go see it due to movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods could be catastrophic for the Superhero Film industry.
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