IR Film Review: SHAZAM! - FURY OF THE GODS [Warner Brothers]
For a sequel that seemingly wasn't sure of the tone of the original, "Shazam! - Fury Of The Gods" as an overall approach is a hit-and-miss proposition. While the themes work, most of the narrative structure and progression is a bit muddled and messy. Zachary Levi, of course, puts his most earnest self into playing this not-quite-ready superhero, this time with his "family" in tow. The integrated plot mechanism here takes an almost throwaway plot device detail from the first movie and makes it a MacGuffin for an entire movie. The film here follows evil (or maybe just opportune) sisters from the God world who seek to restore their power. Like most instances, there is both discord and a little chicanery at play within the ranks.
The crucial crux here is one of the sisters being played by Helen Mirren. Like her turn in the "Fast" franchise, Mirren is always up for trying something new. But even she has admitted in interviews she is not quite sure what is happening most of the time in this film. She says the words with conviction but it is in the moments of still, specifically a moment at a picnic table across from Levi, that you feel the weight it can give to a scene (though with his humor -- which is right on for the character -- feels still off balance with her). Unfortunately in these huge movies, it is a little harder to slow down the train once it gets going. As far as an overall perspective, Lucy Liu chews up most of the furniture but her character's rage only has a modicum of motivation. Rachel Zegler, last seen in "West Side Story", fares better than Liu but her motivation and context of empathy (especially how she is introduced) doesn't quite connect the dots.
Djimon Honsou, who definitely brought the humor out last time, fares well but again the spectacle, especially the notion of what the dragon is takes over everyting else. It is actually one sequence involving Skittles and a certain battle horse that is the most endearing but also in a way the most laughable because it is a little too far out there. The film could have done with some more needle drops as well. The one in the beginning is more used for the delivery of one line and not for an overall cinematic effect.
The more interesting place though overall in terms of setting in the sequel is The Rock Of Eternity with its infinite doors. That construct alone would be great for a TV series and definitely gives some of the best family group scenes because it plays like a skit. But that is part of the issue as well. This Shazam!, like the first one, is a bit uneven. It doesn't quite come off as top notch but more as B-string while still towing the line. While one might say that is part of its charm, another part might say it is lazy storytelling with the context of destuction as a way to simply raise the stakes. That said, Billy/Shazam!'s path is just. But even in the final minutes, and it doesn't give anything away, he sort of blows it. But, as the character seems to be aware, that is just sometimes how the cookie crumbles. C
By Tim Wassberg
