Shazam! Fury of the Gods, surprisingly fun for families

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a movie that’s in an unenviable position. It’s coming out four years after the original that made money and was profitable, but it wasn’t Marvel, phase 1, 2, or 3 profitable. It’s also post-COVID and the movie-going public, especially the family-oriented ones aren’t receiving the attention that they once did. For superhero movie fans, the most recent slate of releases has been very poorly received and a shadow of their recent quality. With all of that in the rearview mirror, Shazham! Fury of the Gods gleefully steps on the gas and has produced a fun movie. It’s self-aware, mocks its self-awareness, reminds audiences that they really don’t know the character, and probably forgot the fine points of the first Shazam movie in 2019.

Recap: Billy Batson was given mystical powers by a dying wizard. Whenever this 17-year-old kid says “Shazam” he turns into the superhero. At the end of the first film he gave some of his powers to his adopted brothers and sisters, and now they’re a flying superhero team. All of this is thankfully covered in the first 20 minutes or so, which might explain why most of the people who we asked at our screening found that to be the weakest part of the film.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods focuses on some ancient gods who have come back to life and are after an ancient staff. Once they put it together they’re halfway towards conquering Earth, as long as they can plant an apple from the tree of creation.  So far it’s the same hokey, superhero in tights stuff, but as you’re viewing the film it feels, ironically grounded.

There are real issues like adoption, betrayal, imposter syndrome, trust, and more that feel welcome in a ‘superhero’ film.  At times it reminded me of the first Iron Man, with just a bit of Despicable Me thrown in for good measure.  Fury of the Gods was breezy, fun, and lightweight entertainment. It’s the kind of movie that 10-year-old kids will see and love. Their 14-year-old siblings will see it and enjoy it more than they’re letting on. Adults will be pleasantly surprised at the film as long as they relax, look past some of the plot holes, and focus on Helen Mirren.

Yeah, there are problems with the film. Djimon Hounsou’s beard and dreadlocks look incredibly fake in every scene. Some of the CGI scenes look like they were lifted from Doctor Strange. The age discrepancy between Shazam and his teen alter-ego is incredibly inconsistent. The teen is fun and full of life, whereas the adult superhero is too much teen and annoying at times. The humor is fine, but there are many jokes that don’t connect.

Audiences also aren’t sure who’ll be around in the next version of DCEU. There is a cameo in Fury of the Gods from a superhero who’s not even in the future plans for the DC films. Their presence is a little odd, but it doesn’t taint the movie too much. Unfortunately, this happens near the end of the film when something silly and unexplainable happens.

Having said all of that, it’s still a fun movie. Shazam! Fury of the Gods won’t charm everyone, but it’s a nice placeholder for families who want to see a good, mostly clean film for ages 10 and up. There are a couple of instances where language is used that you don’t want the younger ones repeating. This is where it deftly straddles the line between it being a movie that’s aimed at families. It won’t tread any new ground, but it’ll keep those who want to be entertained, entertained. You may want another film in the franchise, but the age discrepancy will inhibit that dramatically. If Billy Batson is a young 20-something in the next film, then the kid-like charm of Shazham is gone. Will people still want to see a youth who’s just about to leave college whine and act as hapless and insecure as the superhero does? Probably not, but perhaps they could write their way out of it. Zachary  Levi does have a certain amount of charm in this titular role, but he’d have to raise his demo dramatically to keep pace with its youth version.  

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is rated PG-13 for action, violence and language.