I really liked the first "Shazam!". I especially appreciated that it focused on the characters in a story that functioned very well on its own. Also, the humor worked pretty well for me. In "Fury of the Gods", however, the very elements that I particularly liked in the first film have now been cut back. There are still some character moments, but significantly fewer than in the predecessor. There are some hints at what the individual members of the "Shazam!" family are up to. But instead of focusing on that, the spotlight shifts to one-dimensional villains and flat jokes.
The actors from the first installment continue to work well in their respective roles. Zachary Levi, however, overdoes it at one point or another for my taste. The writers have failed with the antagonists, though. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu play their roles much too seriously. More scenery chewing would have been nice here. I also didn't connect with Rachel Zegler. However, this is not due to her, but rather to the fact that she is not given much to do.
The result is a generic superhero movie that bored me at times. Nothing is terrible, but nothing stands out either. I had to chuckle a few times, especially in the first two acts. But the first film's heart is missing. This is particularly noticeable in the finale, which follows the same formula as almost every other superhero film. The climax also features one of the most shameless product placements I've ever seen. The effects are solid overall and also much better than they were recently in "Quantumania", for example. But I could not get excited about "Shazam! 2" at any time. It's at most a mediocre film that you might watch when there's really nothing else on.
Review by ToralfVIP 3BlockedParent2023-03-22T08:17:14Z
I really liked the first "Shazam!". I especially appreciated that it focused on the characters in a story that functioned very well on its own. Also, the humor worked pretty well for me. In "Fury of the Gods", however, the very elements that I particularly liked in the first film have now been cut back. There are still some character moments, but significantly fewer than in the predecessor. There are some hints at what the individual members of the "Shazam!" family are up to. But instead of focusing on that, the spotlight shifts to one-dimensional villains and flat jokes.
The actors from the first installment continue to work well in their respective roles. Zachary Levi, however, overdoes it at one point or another for my taste. The writers have failed with the antagonists, though. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu play their roles much too seriously. More scenery chewing would have been nice here. I also didn't connect with Rachel Zegler. However, this is not due to her, but rather to the fact that she is not given much to do.
The result is a generic superhero movie that bored me at times. Nothing is terrible, but nothing stands out either. I had to chuckle a few times, especially in the first two acts. But the first film's heart is missing. This is particularly noticeable in the finale, which follows the same formula as almost every other superhero film. The climax also features one of the most shameless product placements I've ever seen. The effects are solid overall and also much better than they were recently in "Quantumania", for example. But I could not get excited about "Shazam! 2" at any time. It's at most a mediocre film that you might watch when there's really nothing else on.