Out this week in cinemas is the sequel to the 2019 hit film Shazam!, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Everyone from the previous film return and adds three new actors to the ensemble, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler. This trio are the daughters of Atlas, they are vengeful gods seeking to restore their realm and get revenge for what happened to their father Atlas. Willy Billy and the gang be able to stop this new threat?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods – Say the word
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a lot of fun. Reminiscent of its predecessor, Shazam! Fury of the Gods mixes heart, humour and horror. The opening with Hespera (Mirren) and Kalypso (Liu) at the museum is surprisingly intense. Seeing Kalypso utilise her powers and the chaos that ensues is brilliant. I have to say that scenes involving Kalypso’s powers are all quite impressive.
There is a particular one involving Freddy and his teacher that is intense and Jack Dylan Grazer’s performance in the scene is compelling. If I’m being honest Grazer is the MVP of the film. He’s often by himself away from the rest of the team and he has some genuinely emotional scenes that impressed me.
On the other side of the spectrum, there is Lucy Liu. I don’t know what Liu has been doing, but in this film, it feels like she has completely forgotten how to act. She has no presence, no menace and every line she delivers falls flat. Thankfully Helen Mirren is giving a lot to her role, she’s having a lot of fun kicking the crap out of Shazam and his family. Unfortunately, the film makes a decision about who is ultimately the big bad and it’s a big mistake, in my opinion.
Much like the previous film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods knows that the part of the film we all loved was the family. And they’re all brilliant. I actually wish, they had spent more time on the family drama rather than the vengeful goddesses.
I honestly had fun with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Once again the ensemble works. The found family is brilliant. It’s just unfortunate that the villains aren’t nearly as strong as Shazam!’s Doctor Sivana. It’s not as strong as the first entry, but it is a worthy sequel. It also, almost, had a perfect ending. I’m serious, there is a point where if the film went a different route with the narrative it would have been an absolutely brilliant climax. Unfortunately, they went a different route and it felt weirdly forced.
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