Shazam: Fury of the Gods Review

SHAZAM! Zachary Levi excels in this delightful followup to the 2019 film which explores the theme of family and coming-of-age in a truly resonant fashion. The story follows Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who on the verge of turning 18 and aging out of his foster home struggles to keep the gang together while a new threat emerges in the form of Helen Mirren and her equally treacherous sisters. Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam: Fury of the Gods proves to be a remarkably entertaining action comedy that continues to deliver on the Big-inspired touchstones that the original film brought us. 

 

The actors playing young Billy and his foster siblings are all growing up fast as evidenced by the nearly four year gap in between installments and two year jump in the storytelling, so it’s only natural that the screenwriters decided to move the story forward with the narrative of Billy’s fear of being kicked out of the home he has built for himself over the last two years. This is done in such an effective manner in the opening beats of the film from his conversation with his pseudo psychiatrist in the opening scene to his heartfelt moment with his foster sister Mary (Grace Caroline Currey). And his relationship with his disabled foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) is especially fractured with Freddie’s superhero antics going to his head and his desire to be out there on his own. Grazer gets a lot to do here though as a love interest for him is introduced in the form of a girl at his school named Anne (Rachel Zegler). Zegler plays her with such charm and effectual thoughtfulness which electrifies the chemistry between the two onscreen. Of course their romance isn’t all it seems but I’ll let you see the movie first to find out for yourself… 

 

 

One of the best elements of the first film was Billy’s foster parents, Victor and Rosa played by Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans respectively. They bring such a warmth and wholesomeness to the screen which is hard to match and undeniable. Their relationships with all the kids feel so genuine and not forced or cliched by any means. And the double-life dynamics of the kids hiding their superhero secret identities from them makes for some great comedic fodder. The Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) returns here and is very unexpectedly a much more quirky and eccentric character this time around opposed to his stern-faced demeanor in the original. The scenes between him and Freddy are definitely a highlight of the movie with the Wizard stealing the show. And that's nothing against Grazer who continues to turn in a high-caliber comedic yet nuanced performance. 

 

 

And speaking of nuanced performances Zachary Levi is as good as he has ever been here playing the part of a kid in a man's body to perfection. And that's in part because he's a big kid himself in real life. Just like Tom Hanks in Big (1988) he brings out the optimism and innocence of youth mashed with superpowers. I was concerned after first seeing the original Shazam that Levi's character wouldn't be allowed to be as interesting or complex a character as the role that made him famous Chuck Bartiwski but from the film's opening moments I realized how wrong I was. When you take into consideration all the compounded tragedy that Billy has been through in his short life from his father being arrested and his mother abandoning him to all the foster homes he has been through added with all the trauma of his superheroics you quickly realize that this is a character who has had to mature fast and has the potential to progress in exciting ways moving forward. I won't give away the ending but it for sure matches some of the epicness seen on display in Batman V Superman with one moment in particular punctuated by an iconic character's score. And as far as Bully's future as Shazam goes, a Post-credits scene sets up a very exciting possibility for the DC Universe. 

 

Of course that future is in question with James Gunn now the co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. Levi and Gunn have a solid friendship and they have indicated the door is open for Zachary Levi's Shazam to return in this new era of DC. It may ultimately come down to the box office / critical reception to this film overall or Gunn and Safran may already have a strong enough confidence in this character to decide to continue utilizing him regardless. In any case a Shazam 3 is in order and I for one would like to see the story tackle Billy's missing-in-action father. What if Tom Hanks played Billy's father? Or even Zachary Levi himself as the father? The irony of either of those would be too rich to pass up. On the other hand I would like to see the threequel see a time jump in which Billy Batson is all grown up and aged into Zachary Levi. That would allow for some awesome storytelling with Levi then fully being able to immerse himself in the character in all aspects of his life and we could even see Asher Angel reappear as younger Billy via flashbacks, time travel, or even a reverse SHAZAM effect in Zachary Levi turning back into his younger self played by Asher Angel. That being said, Shazam: Fury of the Gods is a terrific film well worth checking out that has something more to say than just mere spectacle.