Lamar Reviews - "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (Airdate 3/24/2023)

Lamar Reviews - "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (Airdate 3/24/2023)

I was a big Chuck Fan, and I love Zachary Levi. I thought the first Shazam was funny, and entertaining, so I couldn’t wait to see this one. I really think that this movie suffers from the problem that all good movies suffer from, making the second movie be as good as the first. My best example of this is Pirates of the Caribbean. One of the greatest moments in movie history is watching Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow sail in on that sinking boat and step off onto the dock. It was our first impression of Captain Jack and we were amazed, and the movie set us on fire! I don’t know about you but I can’t remember the opening scene of any one of the other 4. And with each movie Captain Jack became less interesting. You can only make a first impression one time.

To recap, Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, has been granted superpowers by a Wizard, played by Djimon Hounsou, and when he utters the word Shazam, he turns into a superhero, played by Zachary Levi. Billy is an orphan and lives with five other orphans that he gave superpowers to.

Since his mom and dad both deserted him Billy has separation anxiety and in this movie that becomes an issue due to his hovering over the other kids/superheroes.

We join our heroes as they are struggling to get the respect they deserve for saving lives. The newspaper and TV have named them the “Philly Fiascos”, and talk more about the damage they cause than the good they do, not knowing that these are high school brains in superhuman bodies, so their judgement is not always the best. 

In this movie they face two villains, gods, who are the daughters of Atlas.  Kalypso and Hespera, played by Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren, who are ticked off that Shazam and his brothers and sisters have superpowers they don’t deserve, and they have come to get them back and destroy the world. Billy’s sidekick Freddy, played by Jack Dylan Grazer spends most of the movie as Freddy, not as his superhero version, played by Adam Brody. He probably has the best and funniest lines in the movie and his relationship with Billy is showcased the most in the movie.

The movie is a little long at 2 hours and 10 minutes, Rated PG-13 for action and violence, along with some language.

When Billy’s/Shazam’s constant babbling, especially as Shazam, starts to get on your nerves you have to remind yourself, kid’s mind in superheroes body. And the fact that with that mindset he has no filter and just says what he’s thinking, which leads to some pretty decent humor.

When the movie is over, sit tight, there are two after credit scenes. One in the middle, and one at the very end.

This is not for the Batman fans, or the Suicide Squad, or the Superman fans, if there are any left, this is just fun, and never takes itself too seriously. I loved the first one, I liked this one, I’m worried about the next one.

My Score: 3 Buds

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