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Zachary Levi in a still from Shazam! Fury of the Gods (category IIA). David Sandberg directs. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
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Review | Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie review: DC Extended Universe loses its way, yet again, with muddled superhero sequel

  • A sequel to 2009’s Shazam!, Zachary Levi returns in the title role alongside Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren, but the action can’t hide its lack of an emotional core
  • The visual effects in an early scene are superbly realised but the film relies too much on CGI, to the point where the characters’ motives are hard to work out
American cinema
James Mottram
James Mottram
Why you can trust SCMP

2/5 stars

The curse of the DC Extended Universe strikes again.

Back in 2019, David Sandberg’s Shazam! was one of the perkier entries in the DCEU, a humorous take on what happens when an adolescent is granted superhero powers.

Zachary Levi was great as Shazam, while Asher Angel, as his teen alter ego Billy Batson, and Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy’s foster brother Freddy brought a real freshness to spandex-wearing heroes.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, a muddled sequel that gets more tiresome by the minute despite some worthy additions to the cast.

Here, the Daughters of Atlas – Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren) – seek out the magical staff that Shazam previously broke. Arriving at an Athens museum where it’s held, they cause havoc, turning patrons into statues.

Shazam, of course, is no longer alone, after turning several of his friends into heroes too. Freddy’s alter ego is Captain Everypower (Adam Brody), but herein lies the first major problem with Fury of the Gods.

There are six in the gang in total, which means 12 actors playing these dual parts – and most of them are entirely forgettable.

Rachel Zegler in a still from Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Much better is West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler, who features as Anthea, the new girl at Freddy’s school who takes a shine to him.

The best action comes early, when Shazam and the gang save dozens of people from a collapsing bridge. The visual effects, as tarmac cracks, cars tumble into the water and cables ping like elastic bands, is superbly realised.

Yet the more the story unfolds, with Kalypso and Hespera trapping part of Philadelphia under a huge dome, the more it crumbles. There are derivative references to Fast & Furious and Game of Thrones, a sequence involving a magic pen that looks right out of Harry Potter, and an appearance by one of DC’s classier heroes, presumably to keep the fans on side.
Lucy Liu (left) and Helen Mirren in a still from Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Awash with computer-generated imagery (CGI), including a dragon that Kalypso rides, characters’ motives becoming largely incomprehensible.

Levi is still charming as Shazam, but he’s rather lost that boyish puppy-dog air that he had in the first film as he learned how to be a hero. Now he’s dealing with impostor syndrome, but the emotional core is so vapid it’s hard to care.

At one point, a picture is seen on a wall that reads: ‘No Shazaming Indoors’. Maybe it should say: ‘No Shazaming Any More’.

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