Shazam! Fury of the Gods
In DC’s decade run of its current iteration, which started with “Man of Steel,” “Shazam!” is one of the strongest films of the bunch, in part because it wears its heart on its sleeve. Yes, there is action and ridiculous fun, but Billy Batson’s story of being an orphan who’s spent his life finding a family, and- partially because he is given superpowers- finds one with a couple who’s taken in plenty of orphans, is as emotionally satisfying as any superhero story has been. With a subtitle like “Fury of the Gods,” it was natural that David F. Sandberg’s film was going to be more weighted towards action and spectacle- and when the emotional parts of the story land, they land successfully- but as enjoyable as the new film is, I often found myself wanting more of the story’s heart on its sleeve.
The years since Billy (Asher Angel) and his foster brothers and sisters (Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand and Grace Caroline Currey) were imbued by the power of Shazam! have come with responsibility, but not much in term of team planning. They have tried to save the day plenty of times, but often, have found themselves struggling with the gig. Without much guidance from the wizard (Djimon Hounsou) he received the powers from, Billy (in Shazam form played by Zachary Levi) is having a hard time being the leader he needs to be. When the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler) come to town to retrieve their powers, it may be too much for them to face.
Right away, we see an example of the anxiety Billy is facing as he tells a doctor about his uncertainty of where everything is headed with his powers, and his family feeling the need to do their own thing, as well. It’s a great hook to continue Batson’s story, but it’s too often in the background of the spectacle of the film. There are times where the pieces are in place for this to be akin to Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2”- including villains who reflect the same struggles Billy is dealing with- but Sandberg and his writers (Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan) cannot quite stick the landing as effortlessly as that film did. “Fury of the Gods” does do a very good job with the establishment of the Daughters of Atlas, and the threat they present, and it helps when you have a legend like Mirren, an underrated weapon like Liu, and an up-and-comer with such talent and charisma as Zegler, in those roles. The conclusion leads to some mythical creatures coming to life, and seeing the chaos they lead to is deviously entertaining, as well as how the gang tries to fight them. Stylistically, however, Sandberg tries to give this film some visual flair, but often it just comes off as needlessly dark- maybe some of his horror roots coming in to play- but overall the character visual effects are strong in this film.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” finds itself in an odd place in terms of its release. We already know the early parts of the new DC leadership plans at the studio, and so the tag at the end of this film seems like one of those that will go unfulfilled in the long run. That would be a shame, but even if that’s the case, “Fury of the Gods” finds itself largely successful at what it wants to convey, and if you enjoyed the first one, that might be enough.
