Shazam! Fury Of The Gods – REVIEW
Image: Shazam - Fury of the Gods. Image: film still
A star studded cast including Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu appear in this sequel to the American film based on the DC Comics character Shazam.
Sequels don’t always measure up to the original, however this superhero flick has twice the drama and twice the action so passionate fans of the franchise won’t be disappointed.
The story is quite simplistic, unlike other movies in this genre. Billy Batson and his 5 teenage foster siblings transform themselves into adult superheroes just by saying “Shazam!”
They fight crime and even though rejected by the city they return to fight the Daughters of Atlas, goddesses who have the intention of destroying the Earth owing to a blunder Shazam made.
Billy Batson admits, “I’m an idiot and I don’t deserve these powers”. So is he a leader or a lost boy? The fate of the Earth lies in his hands, but can he lead his team of superheroes to conquer these evil goddesses from torturing mankind for eternity?
A whole city is destroyed as the 6 superheroes attempt to save the world while battling frightening monsters.
Strangely this does feel like a kid’s flick since the teenager characters seem to share the same amount of screen time with the adult characters. Problematic is that potential new adult attendees to the franchise may opt to pass, believing that it’s just ‘another kid’s flick’.
Ultimately, originality is non-existent in this fun yet silly ‘good vs evil’ flick which is overloaded with humorous dialogue that feels contrived at times. Original concepts are quite rare in Hollywood, but these lucrative brands will be pumped out for as long as moviegoers continue to attend in droves.
★★★
