Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie review: Zachary Levi's DC movie disappoints

David F Sandberg's Shazam! Fury of the Gods has the misfortune to come at a time when the cinematic universe it was a part of, informally dubbed the DCEU or DC Extended Universe, is in its death throes. At the moment, it is not certain that the franchise will transition to the DCU that James Gunn and Peter Safran are building at DC Studios and it is said the commercial performance may be the deciding factor. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not a bad movie, and is certainly fun, more so than the last few entries in the rival Marvel Studios movies anyway. The very fact that it is part of a dying cinematic universe may be enough to sink it.

It would have helped if Fury of the Gods were a decent sequel. But the endearing charm that made the original one of the best DCEU entries is missing here.

The bosses at DC and Warner Bros discovery allotted more of those million dollars to the film's budget after the original became a success (not a huge one, mind you, but it was a hit with critics). And it shows. The film is bigger, though not necessarily better. The original's structure was nothing to write home about, and the pacing and tone could be uneven. But Fury of the Gods entirely goes off the rails after a solid first act.

What is Shazam! Fury of the Gods all about?

Fury of the Gods follows the continuing adventures of Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel), a teenage foster child who gains the power to transform into the adult superhero Shazam (played by Zachary Levi) by saying the magic word Shazam!Shazam and his foster siblings must once again unite to face a new threat from the villainous daughter of the Greek god Atlas Hespera (played by Helen Mirren) and her sisters Kalypso (played by Lucy Liu) and Anthea (Rachel Zegler), who seek the powers bestowed upon the Shazam family, as they believe they are mere humans, and thus undeserving of them.

A solid first act

Fury of the Gods begins with a rescue operation the Shazam family, dubbed Philadelphia Fiascoes by their fellow inhabitants of the city, undertakes when a bridge is collapsing. It is a hilarious, action-packed beginning that once again reminds us that these are still just kids, playing at superheroes. This fact becomes clearer when the daughters of Atlas attack the city and hold one of them hostage, asking them to return a magical object (there's always a magical object, isn't there? Sigh). However, the film becomes a CGI whirlwind midway with cool moments peppered in.

Poorly written villains

It is quite stunning that nearly every modern superhero movie has suffered from bad, uninteresting villains, and still screenwriters creating these stories do not seem to be able to do anything about it. Here, too, the three villainesses, played by three actresses who took this job just for money, seem to have come out straight from a badly written algorithm. It was depressing to watch Dame Helen Mirren made to mouth cookie cutter baddie lines like, "We will annihilate everything. The champions of this realm can do nothing to stop us."

Or something like that. I am just paraphrasing.

Nothing against Mirren, mind you. After decades of great performances, the veteran actress has earned the right to do whatever she wishes. And her very presence does lend a sort of gravitas to this film. Ditto with Lucy Liu. Zegler, on her part, has actually admitted that she took this role because she wanted a job.

Visual effects are impressive, but overdone

There is a scene in the film when several kinds of monsters are loose in the city, and it feels like Sandberg enjoyed using his experience with horror in these designs. The designs and effects are truly wonderful, but the same cannot be said about other CGI. It is all fluid and detailed, for the most part, but it's also too much. Practical effects are few and far between there.

Humour and performance save the film

Amidst its otherwise interminable 130-minute runtime, Fury of the Gods does offer some good jokes. Humour is, of course, subjective, so your frequency may vary.The Shazam family's actors, both young and adult (not all of the young ones are kids) having worked together in two films now, share a genuine and effortless chemistry, making their comedic exchanges feel natural and engaging. Also, they are undeniably good actors. And that is one of the few things that works in the movie's favour.

Final verdict

As I said above,Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not a bad movie. Despite its flaws, it had enough humour and heart for me, and I enjoyed it. But keep in mind that it is a huge downgrade from the original. The effortless charm that was there is missing here.

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