--Kalypso, Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Shazam! is one of the best of the post-Justice League DCEU thanks to layering drama, comedy, and even some horror without having these elements war with each other. There is also the very strong emotional center of the movie expressed through Billy's life as a foster child, the culmination of meeting his mother, and his acceptance by a family that chooses him. Shazam! Fury of the Gods certainly holds onto some of these traits, but it loses some of the narrative focus. Thematically, family is the philosophical focus once again and this works wonders for exploring an aging cast of child characters; as far as the plot goes, there is nowhere near the kind of more streamlined storytelling that the first boasted. This does not mean that sheer randomness does not ever work in favor of Fury of the Gods. It does with some of the humor. This sequel also has more overt connections to the established DCEU with references to more than just Batman and Superman, which makes it all the more tragic that the DCEU was so severely mismanaged by Warner Bros. that The Flash is set to reboot the franchise before the leftover plot threads could even be finished.
Production Values
Falling short of the DCEU's special effects apex in the films directed by Zack Snyder, Fury of the Gods nevertheless does not have Suicide Squad's or the theatrical Justice League's level of CGI flaws. Of particular uniqueness is the way that Anthea's power of manipulating objects for combat or evasion is used, such as when she tries to escape a specific, catastrophic fate closer to the end of the movie. The dragon revealed in the promotional material also stands out for its wooden composition and the way that it is framed multiple times so that its shape and eyes contrast with darkness that engulfs the screen. The creatures of the film, often pulled from Greek mythology, are sometimes utilized in ways that sharply subvert tropes affiliated with them. Popular ideas about unicorns are very cleverly sidestepped here, and the broader comedy is executed more competently than not. Among the highlights is a scene with Skittles that is among the best of any product placement in mainstream movies, but there are fittingly serious moments sprinkled into the plot. The key to not having these two tones clash, once again, is in not having them intrude where one needs to remain by itself, and there are several crucial scenes where this distinction is maintained. Near the end, there is a rather major and dark turn of events that is casually undone shortly after, yes, though the preceding stakes are somber. The remnants of the old Justice League are even still making minor appearances before Gunn's DCU takes root, in this case at the end, as haphazard as the overall crossover storytelling has been for years at this point.
Greek mythology itself also resurfaces after Wonder Woman and Justice League with the antagonists and newly introduced lore. As the daughters of Atlas, Lucy Liu is passable (the weakest out of the three actresses for the villains), Rachel Zegler shows conflict and passion beyond Liu, and Helen Mirren absolutely takes masterful charge of her role. Mirren gives one of the absolute best performances of the entire DCEU in her scattered scenes as one of the villains. From speaking alone with Shazam to interacting with her character's sisters, Mirren does not waste a single moment of her screentime, handling the gravity of her threats and the randomness of several humorous moments (especially reading from Steve's scroll) very, very well. Zachary Levi, Djimon Hounsou, Meagan Good, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Asher Angel also give great performances, with Hounsou's role being greatly expanded this time over the much smaller scope of his presence in the first movie. He has excellent comedic and dramatic abilities that are put to good use.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
The three daughters of Atlas target the Shazam family over the source of their powers: the daughters claim that their magical abilities were wrongfully taken from their father Atlas, one of them comparing it to a person who has their money stolen only for a third person to pick it up off the ground after the thief leaves. Before this new threat arrives, the family is already dealing with anxieties over early adulthood or with the desire for independence or unity respectively. The trio of malevolent sisters are themselves not fully united in their intentions and worldviews, and yet they set in motion things that could devastate the human world.
Intellectual Content
Other DCEU films have villains weaponize family against other characters, including Darkseid with Steppenwolf in Zack Snyder's Justice League and Orm with Arthur in Aquaman. Besides the positive relationship between Kal-El and his adopted earthly parents in Man of Steel, the DCEU usually presents its families as marked by tragedy, troublesome, full of strife, or brimming with betrayal. Even Billy Batson's own biological mother is revealed in the first Shazam! to want nothing to do with the son she intentionally abandoned years ago. Fury of the Gods once again, like its predecessor, features a family that might struggle with its unity at times but is ultimately bound by genuine affection. Indeed, it is one of the most positive portrayals of family in any DC live action media, and a fictional example of how it is logically possible, in spite of the greater commonality of more irrationalistic (the family here is not rationalistic but is at least loving) families in real life, for family to not be a source of nothing but stupidity in the forms of selfishness and abuse. More than this, both Shazam! films show how the American foster care system does not have to only produce more heartbreak and trouble.
Conclusion
Unlike how Wonder Woman 1984 was a very mixed movie with several major, horrible creative choices that forsook the splendor of the first film, Fury of the Gods does not ever reach this mixed a quality. More character development for characters like the wizard, incredible acting from cast members like Helen Mirren, and bursts of comedy that can be brilliant in their randomness keep this sequel from going anywhere near the likes of Wonder Woman 1984 or 2016's Suicide Squad. It is not the best of the DCEU even as it is one of the last remnants of the old, now loosely connected shared universe of films, and it does not need to be to not betray everything that made Shazam! such a well-crafted movie. Just prior to a very uncertain period of DC filmmaking, there is more than the same level of blunders that crippled the DCEU in the first place.
Content:
1. Violence: Non-graphic physical strikes and magic attacks are used throughout.
2. Profanity: "Shit" and "damn" are occasionally used.
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