165. Shazam! Fury Of the Gods; movie review

 

SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS

Cert 12A

130 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate fantasy violence, threat, sex references, implied strong language

That was a fresh idea which went stale pretty quickly.

The original Shazam! was rather charming and surprised me because of its references to Big, one of my favourite films.

It also had some interesting moral messages about the love and support of a foster family.

But its sequel is just another superhero film with stereotypical villains and giant monsters wrecking a famous American city.

Once again, teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is transformed into Shazam (Zachary Levi) along with his brothers and sisters.

This time they are faced with the daughters of Atlas, (Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu) who threaten the future of the world with a magic staff.

The kids try to stop them with the help of their old friend, the wizard (Djimon Hounsou), but it seems unlikely they will be up to it.

Meanwhile, romance is blooming between Freddy Freeman (Adam Brody) and the new girl at his school (Rachel Zegler) who is not quite what she seems.

And then the action kicks into gear with a bit of Harry Potter-style magic pens, angry unicorns and a huge wooden dragon playing their part.

I found David F. Sandberg's film bewildering enough before the entrance of a superhero from another film.

I suspect the devotees will lap it up and understand how the details all fit together in this strange cinematic universe.

Frankly, I was beyond caring.

Reasons to watch: Offbeat superhero

Reasons to avoid: Hackneyed  plot

Laughs: One

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 5.5

Did you know? Rachel Zegler's mum is a big Friends fan and named her after Jennifer Aniston’s character in the megahit TV series.

The final word. David. F. Sandberg: "(My favourite thing about Shazam) is the whole concept of a kid who gets to be an adult superhero. Wish fulfilment. I like the fact that his power stems from magic, which is different from Superman, plus the whole family dynamic." Geeks Of Color

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