Shazam! Fury of the Gods Key Information
– Coming to theaters Friday, March 17th.
– Directed by David F. Sandberg
– Written by Henry Hayden and Chris Morgan
– Stars Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler, Jack Dylan Grazer and more.
– Second DCEU movie starring Shazam
– The action takes place two years after the 2019 solo movie.
Minor spoilers for Shazam follow! Fury of the gods.
DC Extended Universe (DCEU) upcoming evolution into the DC Cinematic Universe (DKU) marks a major turning point for DC Studios. Hard Resetting Its Game and Animation Properties – first DCU projects revealed January will reshuffle DC’s superhero roster now and in the future, leaving the fate of some heroes and villains hanging in the air.
Shazam, DC’s most popular magical superhero, is part of this contingent. David F. Sandberg, 2019 film director Shazam! and its continuation Shazam! Fury of the gods, suggests Shazam won’t be part of the DCU (will open in a new tab) unless people go and see the latest in theaters. As such, Shazam’s future hinges on the success of his latest cinematic adventure.
Fortunately for the character, to paraphrase a famous saying, lightning struck twice in the same place. Shazam! Fury of the gods is a magically wondrous sequel to its predecessor, building on this horror-filled, joyful wish-fulfillment and thematically-infused corner of the DCEU. It’s clumsy in some of its performances, which I’ll get to, but Shazam! 2like its multi-powered protagonist, more than the sum of its parts.
It’s all about family
The action takes place two years after the release of the first live-action film about the character. Shazam! Fury of the gods finds Billy Batson (Asher Angel) using his adult superhero alter ego Shazam (Zachary Levi), which Batson transforms into when he says the word “Shazam!” – to fight crime. Billy does this with his adopted siblings, including Freddie Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), whom he gifted with superpowers during Shazam!decisive battle.
When fueled by vengeance, Hesperus (Helen Mirren), Calypso (Lucy Liu), and Athena (Rachel Zegler), also known as the Daughters of Atlas, show up and vow to destroy the Earth, Billy and company must stop them. However, since each member of the team puts other duties ahead of their superhero obligations – or, in Freddy’s case, wants to fight crime alone – Shazamili’s internal struggles could have far wider doomsday consequences than they realize.
If Shazam! – one of best superhero movies – how about finding a place and a family to call home, Fury of the gods focuses on the insecurities of adoptive siblings that they will grow older and lose everything they hold dear. They’re teenagers now, and their superhero duties mean they’re growing up faster than the average teenager. However, as teenagers try to make sense of life and find their place in the non-superhero world, they don’t have all the answers. This creates individual and collective frustration within and among our heroes.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods upstages its overarching theme in favor of the genre’s must-have superhero CGI combat.
It’s here where Shazam! 2 thematically strongest. The aging of the main cast – and their characters – allows Fury of the gods explore more mature topics that its predecessor couldn’t, such as finding your true identity and remembering what matters most to you. In this sense, Shazam! Fury of the gods it’s a thematically rich story about individuality, family duty, and the development of maturity to understand that you don’t have to prioritize one over the other. ace Fast and FuriousDominic Torretto regularly states: “You don’t turn your back on family.”
It’s a pity then that Shazam! 2 does not continue to actively draw on its main motive as the plot progresses.
Fury of the gods“The exploration of how to be yourself runs through his first act, especially when it comes to Billy and Freddie. Unlike Shazam!, which positions the pair as inseparable allies in the battle against evil, their close bond is tested by their opposing views on how and when to face the threats they face. It’s a plot that has a soft Captain America: Civil War the flavor is even more so when other adoptive siblings, including Mary Bromfield (Grace Caroline Curry), challenge Billy and Freddie’s views and/or side with them during family discussions. Exciting tensions also take place between the Daughters of Atlas. Despite their shared goal of reclaiming their father’s powers from Billy’s crew and leveling the Earth, the trio have different views on how to achieve their goals – an intriguing internal conflict positions them as a mirror image of Shazameele.
As the film moves into the action-packed second and third acts, it sidelines its overarching theme in favor of CGI-infused showdowns that are essential to the superhero genre. Movies of this nature inevitably lean on heavy VFX sets, especially as their finale approaches, but I can’t help but feel Shazam! 2the basic concept could be explored in more detail. I wouldn’t mind if one or two VFX upload battles were left out – especially the ones where CGI visuals are sketchy at best – if it meant the film’s family-oriented core theme was explored more broadly.
The dynamic between Shazameely teenagers and their super-powerful aliases suffers inadvertently from this narrative change. Much of what has been done Shazam! entertaining was the chemistry between the foster siblings in their childhood forms. As I mentioned earlier, Angel’s Billy and Freeman’s Freddie were a big reason this movie had a lot of characters, but characters like Yan Chena’s Darla Faith Herman and Eugene contributed a lot to the family dynamic.
Part of it is lost in history Fury of the gods tells. For reasons I won’t spoil though Shazam! Fury of the gods‘Official Trailer something, the Daughters of Atlas took possession of the Wizard’s staff (Djimon Khonsu), that is, a magical artifact that empowers or deprives a person of the power of Shazam. Unsurprisingly, the trio use the staff to strip Billy’s siblings of their powers.
Shazam! “The Fury of the Gods” is preparing a stormy story filled with humor, heart and family heroism.
The problem, however, is that the Daughters of Atlas are manually removing Shazamili’s abilities one by one, meaning that some younger actors get more screen time (and, by proxy, their adult cast counterparts get less air time) than others. . For Freddie, that means plenty of scenes in which Grazer can chew on Adam Brody, who plays his super-powerful adult alter ego.
On the contrary, as the main character of the film, Shazam Levy plays a more important role than Billy Asher. Admittedly, this discrepancy leads to some funny moments between the film’s adult and teen cast – more on that in a moment – but it detracts from the humorous camaraderie that exists between both sets of actors. Look at the Rock of Eternity family reunion at the start of the process, or the witty and ingenious plan the depowered kids devise during the final battle – again, I can’t say more due to spoilers – as proof of how this dynamic works in practice. to a satisfactory effect.
Different strokes and jokes for different people
As sad as it is Fury of the godsactors revel in their roles.
Once again, Levy imbues the child-like Shazam with youthful exuberance and naivety that makes it seem like the role was made especially for him. Levy gave more opportunities to work compared to Shazam!also taking on the mantle of responsibility as the de facto leader of Shazamili, despite the self-doubt and anxiety he suffers about his superhero dignity and ability to keep his family together.
Mirren, Liu, and Zegler bring malice, menace, and emotional torment to their characters’ peaks. Mirren and Liu deal with punishment with glee, while Zegler’s Athena brings a delightful twist of fidelity into the equation that adds weight to the film’s conflicting facts.
However, it is Grazer who delivers Shazam! 2greatest performance. V Luke another This The graduate infuses the role of Freddie with humor and heart, replete with punches to the stomach and awkward jokes. Like the first movie Fury of the gods stuffed full of hilarious and hilarious moments, and it’s Grazer who delivers the most laughs.
The emotional seriousness he gives to Freddie is also impressive. Whether it’s a dramatic scene with Billy or a hacky romance between Freddie and Athena, Grazer is easily the film’s standout performer, and that’s saying something when you’re filming alongside legendary actors like Mirren and Liu.
tonally, Shazam! Fury of the gods finds a satisfying combination of genres in which it coexists. Yes, it’s a superhero movie at heart, but how Shazam!, he’s not afraid to dive into horror – Sandberg’s penchant for the terrifying and macabre is used particularly well with elements of the film’s Greek mythology. Taking cues from cult anime and other Japanese style works such as The Legend of Zelda another Akira so help Fury of the gods nice to stand out from your peers, as well as strange visual knots to Game of Thrones another Strange things. However, the film’s fondness for overtly 21st-century cultural references like TikTok may grow old. Fury of the gods faster than expected in the coming years.
my verdict
Shazam! Fury of the gods struggles to come up with a tumultuous story filled with humor, heart, and family heroism. This dc movie it’s unimpressive in some aspects – its descriptive explanations, the derivative ending, and the omission of its key theme, to name three. But as a charming, flamboyant and mostly family spectacle – with a cameo in the final scene that finally ties the Shazam franchise to the wider DCEU – it hits its mark.
equally, Shazam! 2 fulfills its dual function of being a fitting end to a character’s journey in the DCEU and a potential starting point for new adventures in a revived DCU. At this time, new DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have not confirmed if Shazam will move into the New Cinematic Universe. If Fury of the gods“Post-credits scenes are anything, but he has the potential for it.
In a franchise full of gritty and mundane films, the Shazam film series has brought something colorfully joyful – and for me, it’s worth celebrating.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens on Friday, March 17th. Shazam! available for streaming on HBO Max.
