Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review – IGN

The joyful teenage power 2019’s Shazam! dropped at DC’s cinematic world of heroes was a breath of recent air subsequent to the darkish grittiness of Zach Snyder’s variations of the Justice League characters. Nonetheless, it was Billy Batson’s soulful seek for his organic household – and realization that the household he’d longed for was in entrance of him all alongside – which helped it obtain extra endurance than quite a lot of different motion pictures on this style. The sequel, Fury of the Gods, is regrettably lacking a few of that coronary heart. This time we see the Shazamily placing their newfound skills to the check towards a trio of lethal deities set on overrunning Earth, and although the Greek fantasy iconography the villains convey to the desk offers all concerned a considerably elevated Pandora’s toy field to play with, the film stumbles on some storytelling fundamentals that go away the sequel feeling much less highly effective than the primary.

Taken collectively, the evil Daughters of Atlas symbolize a lateral transfer for the antagonist position in Shazam’s story. Within the authentic, Mark Sturdy’s Dr. Sivanna didn’t have a lot of a character to talk of, however his position as a power-hungry foil for Billy’s (Asher Angel) insecurities saved the non-public stakes in focus all through. In contrast, the Daughters’ titanic grudge towards the Shazamily – and the promethean wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who empowered them – doesn’t have the identical clear hook. In consequence, their plan to overhaul Billy’s realm feels overcomplicated for this superhero film, and its dependency on fetch quests and video games of keepaway will get previous shortly. All of that’s earlier than even making an allowance for that their final plan very intently retreads one we’ve already seen in one other DC movie.

The broad strokes of that motion could really feel acquainted, however to his credit score director David F. Sandberg excels at weaving in enjoyable moments to present this story a bit of extra id. Pausing to permit the foster siblings the time to talk up about how, even within the face of the world-ending risk the Daughters convey to Philadelphia, they’re nonetheless fairly psyched they get to struggle a dragon consequently provides character to what would possibly in any other case have been a dry rehash.

What the Daughters lack in compellingly communicated motivation they make up for in display presence. They’re led by Hespera, and Helen Mirren’s near-total command of her character’s operate as not simply the lead villain, however as a steely assured straight lady to the goofy Shazamily’s antics is pleasant. Her efficiency left me wishing Fury of the Gods had discovered extra time to make use of these good, good Mirren vibes to raised promote the Daughters’ private funding within the battle.

Her sister Kalypso (Lucy Liu) seems like a redundancy for Hespera, although her set of powers does result in a few of Fury of the Gods’ most memorable motion moments – together with a creepy opening sequence which hearkens again to the boardroom scene from the primary movie. However with Hespera representing the Daughters in most conversations, Kalypso feels woefully underwritten and leaves Liu’s god with nothing however fury to work with. Rachel Zegler’s Anthea fares higher because the voice of cause, and her steadfastness and allure are welcome in conditions involving each her extra hot-headed sisters and Billy’s perpetually off-the-wall greatest bud, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer).

Their powersets and godly lineage create alternatives for Sandberg to scale up the spectacle, however the Shazamily’s imaginative options to countering the Daughters maintain that motion grounded within the superhero want achievement that serves because the spine of the sequence. Moments the place the children provide you with goofy solves for Severe Issues are gratifying, however Fury of the Gods’ motion begins to really feel a bit of tiresome going into the third act, the place samey mythological creatures are dropped in to basically distract the heroes who get much less display time whereas Shazam will get to do the monologuing with the villains. There’s little apart from the children’ boundless enthusiasm for crimefighting differentiating Shazam’s motion from numerous different superhero motion pictures, and the farther the motion strays from that conceit, the extra forgettable it winds up.

For his half, Freddy stays a chaotic ball of hysteria, nerdiness, and wit, and his elevated display time right here is an apparent byproduct of a traditional sequel gambit: cede time which may’ve been higher used on the protagonist’s story to focus on a personality that popped unexpectedly onerous with followers final time. Grazer scores most of Fury of the Gods’ funniest moments and maintains that momentum by way of scenes which require him to realistically convey the phobia {that a} child could really feel if confronted with the judgment of gods. It’s Grazer’s horrified response to an particularly callous act of violence inflicted on a pal that grounds the Daughters’ malice in one thing recognizable after a primary act which largely sees them working within the background.

There’s not a lot to dislike about Grazer’s efficiency in a vacuum, however it’s what Fury of the Goes is lacking because of its give attention to him that leaves Freddy’s exuberance a double-edged sword. There isn’t a scarcity of motion scenes or huge laughs, however with a whopping six Shaziblings (you may have that, WB), three Daughters of Atlas, two foster dad and mom, a wizard, a dragon, and a sentient pen all in play, it usually seems like there’s little or no time for Billy’s main (and really ironic) wrestle right here: he’s terrified he’ll be deserted once more as soon as he turns 18.

Angel, who’s already sharing a major a part of Billy’s display time with Zachary Levi, feels stranded by the script. When Billy’s having enjoyable and being playful it’s often when he’s in Shazam kind, which leaves Angel the quick stick of getting to largely convey the character’s melancholy. The decision of Billy’s arc feels wholly unsatisfying, each due to Angel’s restricted involvement in conveying it and in how shortly it’s all tied up. In life, a misunderstanding being cleared up with a brief, reassuring dialog might be cathartic… in a film, nonetheless, a personality’s whole emotional arc being resolved the identical manner is irritating.

As for Levi’s embodiment of Shazam, the phrase that rings loudest right here is “constant.” The boyishness of Billy Batson nonetheless comes by way of clear in Levi’s efficiency, however his occasional melancholy self-doubt isn’t a lot of an alternative choice to the comedic goldmine of Billy studying the best way to be each an grownup and a superhero final time. The remainder of the Shazamily – these with and with out powers – fall into predictable supporting positions, with little to contribute apart from character-non-specific quippery. Meagan Good’s grownup iteration of youngest sibling Darla is the one exception, benefitting from the extensive age hole between Darla’s little one and superhero kinds.

Although the Shazam sequel can’t maintain the emotional earnestness of its predecessor, it feels unfair to not acknowledge and recognize that its shortcomings are not less than unencumbered by the heavy world-building anticipated of superhero franchise entries as of late. Even within the face of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s impending DCU reboot, Fury of the Gods tells its personal story by itself phrases, and the missteps it makes alongside the best way not less than really feel half and parcel with the efforts of a crew attempting to forge their very own path – each in entrance of and behind the digital camera. That’s to not say there aren’t references to the bigger DC world to be discovered, simply that they’re clearly not the purpose of this film present within the first place.

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