Red alert: While Darla has proven she CAN keep a secret, I cannot – this review is filled with spoilers so please, for the love of Zeus, stop reading right now if you haven’t watched Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

One of the few DC Films to not be shelved post James Gunn taking over, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was released worldwide on Friday 17 March 2023. Leonie and I had the honour of being guests of Comic Con Cape Town and Fan Con Cape Town at the exclusive preview screening at the V&A Waterfront’s new Ster Kinekor on Thursday 16 March 2023.

Recap:

Two years after the events of Shazam! (and four years for the audience), Billy Batson (Asher Angel and Zachary Levi) and his superpowered foster siblings Mary (Grace Caroline CurreyΒ ,who now plays both teen and superhero Mary), Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody), Pedro (Jovan ArmandΒ and D. J. Cotrona), Eugene (Ian ChenΒ and Ross Butler) and Darla (Faithe HermanΒ and Meagan Good) are drifting apart as everyone tries to find their identity within the team. Juggling fighting crime with learning calculus and lying to their parents is taking a toll on the siblings’ relationships. The negative publicity and anger from the Philadelphia (Philly) residents after every superhero save causes millions of dollars in damage aren’t helping matters much either.

Billy/Shazam is trying his best to keep everyone together but he is being a bit of a control freak and Freddy, in particular, is starting to feel smothered. Cue Freddy meeting a really beautiful, funny and sweet girl Anne (Rachel Zegler) who is like really into him. Blind to all of the red flags, our reluctant sidekick is instantly smitten and willing to ignore his family and superhero responsibilities for his new girlfriend.

Which naturally gets him kidnapped by Anne, who is really the goddess Anthea, and her sisters Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), the Daughters of Atlas. The trio want their deceased father’s magic back – the same magic that the old wizard (Djimon Hounsou) gave to Billy/Shazam and which he and his siblings are squandering.

Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler are The Daughters of Atlas in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Image credit: comicbasics.com

Chaos reigns in Philly as Kalypso does her best Voldemort impression trying to kill a bunch of teenagers with magic. With the help of the old wizard, who it turns out did not die in the first movie, turning Hespera and Anthea to their side, and finally coming clean to their parents, our superheroes band together to try and save the day.

Billy/Shazam, after finally admitting he loves Rosa and calling her Mom (our boy has serious mommy issues since his bio mom rejected him twice in the previous installment), sacrifices himself to defeat Kaylpso and her dragon. Just when all seems lost, along comes Billy’s not-so-secret crush, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) in a freaking awesome cameo, to raise our fallen hero from the dead, using her father Zeus’s power.

Gal Gadot makes a stunning cameo as Wonder Woman in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Image credit: Screenrant

With a few well-placed post-credit scenes, including Billy being recruited to the Justice Society of America (note the crucial difference here between the Society and the League), Shazam looks to be firmly part of the upcoming Gunn DC reset.

Impressions:

As I said to Leonie post screening, it’s rare to find a sequel that is as good or even better than the first film. In the superhero movie business, it’s a freaking unicorn. Which is apt, since there are unicorns in this one πŸ˜‰

Jokes aside, one can tell that director David F. SandbergΒ and writers Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan had fun creating this sequel and so did the cast. When joy lives behind the scenes, it translates to the screen. Shazam! Fury of the Gods doesn’t take itself too seriously but it delivers messages about the strength of non-biological familial bonds; the importance of queer acceptance; the possibility of it never being too late to change the error of your ways and the power of forgiveness with great heart.

The Shazam family. Image credit: Polygon

Levi is starting to look a little too old as the adult Billy/Shazam (it’s particularly noticeable when he is onscreen with the adult superheroes. It doesn’t help that Brody and Good continue to be baby-faced well into their 40s) but he really hits the awkward teen/adult man body swap routine well. Angel as teen Billy has so much more emotional range this time round and it plays off really well when he has the heart to heart with mom Rosa (Marta Milans). At some point, I would LOVE a scene with the two Freddys interacting. The casting of Grazer and Brody as the same character is just pure perfection. Grazer gives off Brody as Seth in The OC vibes all day everyday.

Liu as a villain? Yes, please! Mythical characters, particularly in the DC films, tend to be portrayed as serious, OTT, pompous jerks but I love what both Liu and Mirren did with theirs – irate, gorgeous immortals who find humans tedious and look good in gold armour. While their age differences in relation to Zegler as Anthea are stark, their chemistry and sisterly bond feels natural and relatable.

Let’s get ready to rumble! Shazam and Kaylpso face off in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Image credit: Rolling Stone

The CGI and stunts have been ramped up for this sequel and I am happy that the previous Warner Bros/DC Films execs didn’t skimp on that budget. I suppose they really couldn’t afford not to, what with all of The Flash references and how Shazam is like him but different.

Judging from the excited exclamations in our cinema at the sight of Gadot as Wonder Woman, I know I am not the only one who is doubly sad that her third movie has been scrapped. There was so much potential for a team up between these two characters and then the expansion of the Justice League. Ugh.

Don’t miss Shazam! Fury of the Gods! Image credit: Warner Bros Pictures

Which leads us to the Gunn-sized elephant in the room: Shazam! and Wonder Woman are arguably the two most successful franchises of the current DCEU so why the hell would he and his partner scrap the latter? Does it not make more sense to build with what you have than to burn everything to the ground and start anew? Make it make sense.

All in all, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a fun cinematic romp and worth the splurge seeing it at the movies. Catch it at a Ster Kinekor near you.