Rating: 2.5/5 

Newly released sequel to Shazam!, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, featuring star actors Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freedman and Zachary Levi as the titular hero Shazam, was ultimately a disappointment. Following its prequel, this film had the potential to be just as good. However, it failed to come through. I found Shazam! Fury of the Gods to be incredibly corny coupled with poor taste in music. But to give it some degree of credit, the plot was creative and the effects incorporated were meticulous and captivating. 

A major component contributing to the overall “corniness” of the film was the overuse of slang words. It is understood that teenage language was used while the younger characters were in their adult bodies for a humorous effect, and to show that the characters were still children at heart, but I found it awkward and misplaced. The use of this dialogue appeared to be unnecessary at some points to me, since the self-explanatory concept that these heroes were just kids is something that didn’t have to be continuously reinforced through awkward vocabulary. As for the aspect of humor, I felt myself cringe at the lines that were supposed to be comedic.  

Another irrelevant insert: the film chose to include a scene where Skittles were used in order to solve a conflict. It simply felt like a Skittles ad.

It is reasonable to expect that an action movie would include music that builds tension and adds a sense of excitement to what you’re watching. But not in this movie. Not only was the music selection bland, but even during the climax of some of the most important scenes, the background music fell flat. Still, there was one song played at the beginning called “Holding Out For a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler that brought a sense of comedy to the scene, reminding me of the comedy that so effectively saturated the first movie. Despite the rise and dissipation of action throughout the film, the music stayed generally stagnant, making every scene mostly underwhelming and quite repetitive. There certainly could have been a better music selection to maintain some variety throughout the film.

Regardless of this, there is one quality that was, in a sense, able to redeem this sequel. The visual effects and graphics incorporated during certain scenes, more condensed with action than others, is something worth giving a degree of acknowledgment. A chunk of the film included a dragon, where it should be noted that there was a great deal of attention to detail whilst animating. There were even points where the film had to find a way to show the moving of matter and buildings, which was perfected. Even the peaceful ending gave a great cinematic atmosphere. I will definitely say there was some attention to detail in the movie. Along with this, the overall plot and idea of the movie was very inventive as it includes defeating the evil daughters of the god that granted the main characters their powers. I found that it was a very original idea for an action film that could have been written better. 

But let us not “lightning strike” this movie down. It was still a funny and action packed film, yet the script and music choices could have been better suited to its audience. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not a recommendation, since overall this movie seems to be a let down from its original.