REVIEW: ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’

The first Shazam movie from 2019, was praised for its lighter, brighter worldview and for forgetting about the the gloom of earlier DC films. This continues in this sequel too, only it’s hard not to notice that it this seems to be a trope for ensemble superhero films.

Starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou and Helen Mirren, this sequel follows Billy Batson/Shazam! and his foster family putting their new abilities to the test against a trio of deadly Gods who want to take over Earth.

The film clearly knows this that their secret weapon is fusing the action and comedy together to move the story along and highlights the theme of the film – which is good vs evil, but the power of siblinghood and how much a siblings’ love can motivate one to do either good or bad. It’s great to see Zachary Levi as Shazam again and how he makes us forget about the trouble of the world with his childish humour and hilarious one-liners. Asher Angel, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He seems to play the ‘voice of reason’ and does so in such a way that easily moulds between the young and adult Billy Batson.

Of course, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren are of course amazing as the Daughters of Atlas and it’s amazing how superhero films are moving away from showing their female characters as more than a ‘pretty face’. They drive this story forward and act as motivation for the Shazamily. You get chills whenever these ladies are on screen.

A mix of comedy, action and drama, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a great watch for all the family and just makes you forget about the worries of the world.