Film Review: SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS (2023): New DC Movie is a Wild, Funny Ride with a Lot of Characters Mixed In

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by David F. Sandberg, written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan and starring Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler, Grace Caroline Currey, Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Marta Milans, Djimon Hounsou, Diedrich Bader, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Cooper Andrews, P.J. Byrne, Hillary Harley and Jovan Armand.

Director David F. Sandberg brings funnyman Zachary Levi back in the enjoyable action-packed extravaganza, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. This movie is not DC at its finest nor is it DC at its worst. It is DC at its most passable, however, as a great cast takes the stage in a film chock full of special effects, monsters and superheroes. Levi makes the most of his humorous character which leads to a good time thanks to his energetic performance playing the lead role in the picture.

As the film opens, the daughters of Atlas, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu) crash a museum stealing a sacred weapon of sorts which is going to be very useful to help them fulfill their wicked schemes. The two daughters proceed to turn some people into stone and are on a very precise, and very dangerous mission. It will take a band of truly special superheroes to save the day. Mirren takes the opportunity to revel in her wicked characterization in the picture while Liu stands her ground and plays the part of a villain very well here.

Levi’s Shazam (a foster kid at heart) is talking to a doctor early on in the movie to try to get some life advice but he finds out he’s only speaking to a pediatrician so can only get so much help. Levi’s character is one in a family of several secret superheroes. As a bridge collapses, the group of heroes tries to save each and every citizen involved while some of these heroes look for accolades and one of them rescues some cats before their owners. The bridge scene is one of the better scenes in the movie and starts the movie off with a solid set piece.

Enter a young character named Anthea (Rachel Zegler) who the young Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) takes a liking to in school. Anthea sits next to Freddy at lunch and wants to get to know him better. Maybe, there’s a good reason for this as the plot develops and reveals some interesting information about the character of Anthea.

The majority of the supporting cast players make the effort to get comfortable within their characters. Djimon Hounsou expertly and hilariously appears taking the place of Wonder Woman at one point to inform Levi’s “Shazam” character that he will need to step up his game if he is to defeat the evil that is at hand in the movie. Grace Caroline Currey portrays both Mary Bromfield and superhero Mary here which is an intriguing casting choice that pays off pretty nicely. Meagan Good is also rather interesting portraying the likable superhero version of Darla.

All the plot development that occurs in Shazam! Fury of the Gods ultimately leads to a street battle between a cyclops monster (among other creatures) and our heroes and even unicorns (who are powered by none other than Skittles candies). These developments are enhanced by the performances of Zegler, Liu and, of course, the great Helen Mirren who gets to play a couple of variations on her character which offers the audience plenty of surprises throughout. Zegler is charismatic and likable as the high school student who bonds with Freddy and has to choose between two different paths in her life.

Zachary Levi is the central focus of the movie and Levi is very solid at playing his superhero role here. Levi has to recite some silly dialogue that surprisingly flows well thanks to the actor’s line delivery. It’s easy to see why Levi was drawn to playing this part and he’s successful at making the audience chuckle in-between big action spectacle set pieces.

The appearance of Wonder Woman here is just one of many highlights in the movie and there is plenty to admire for fans of big budget action pictures with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. But, the movie is a bit too long. It eventually settles into one big action scene after another and it can all get exhausting for the viewer since it doesn’t have a really compelling story line. The plot is good but it’s not too thought-provoking and feels like an extended battle of good versus evil. It’s never easy to tell who’s going to change sides or what other forces are going to come into play throughout and some people may see the film’s latter sequences as overkill.

But, still, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is an overall good time. Levi was born to play this role and Mirren gets some juicy line delivery herself and has a few priceless facial expressions. Nobody can do wicked quite like Lucy Liu either who manages to shine in her scenes throughout the picture. Zegler is the most valuable asset to the movie, though, and gets to show a side to her that we didn’t see in West Side Story.

In the final analysis, you don’t have to have seen the first Shazam! movie to enjoy this follow-up film though having knowledge of the basic structure of the first film would help one enjoy the movie a bit better than people coming into this universe for the first time. Levi and the crackerjack pacing will make this movie a much easier watch than it could have been. Another shot of plot may have helped the film have more substance but as DC movies go, this one is pretty entertaining overall.

Rating: 7/10

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