शज़ैम! फ्युरी ऑफ द गॉड्स

I did not really like the first Shazam. It felt a bit too juvenile and it tried too hard to be funny. But the first movie at least had some heart and a bit of fun, this movie does not have any of that.

If you saw the trailer you know what will happen, you can pretty much recite the entire movie without seeing it. This is very full of cliches, bad writing and many of the family of Shazam's are really bad actors. But my main issue with this movie is how incredibly boring it is. Nothing feels fun, no jokes land, no fights have any stakes, the story is bland and cliche.

The only good things I can say is that the DC tech department have stepped up their game in the past two or three movies. Their FX CGi used to be horrible, now it is not anymore. Perhaps I can give some props that this movie is not the worst I have ever seen, but damn this is so, so boring.

Also, did I mention how boring this is?

I give this a 3/10. Almost feels a bit generous, but most of the movie is not bad-bad, this just lack everything above decent and it is so boring and horribly written with cringe scenes every 2min I cannot stand watching it. If you liked the first one you definitely need to stay away from this one. This is one of the worst superhero movies the past years and definitely the most boring.

Did I mention this is a boring movie?

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) is a movie that my wife and I saw in theatres last night. The storyline picks up where we left off from the first film with Billy and his orphaned friends being super heroes and secretly, regularly saving people from unfortunate events. When three sisters retrieve the broken staff from the first film and look to open a portal from Olympus to Earth to take over civilization, Billy and friends are the only ones that can stop them.

This movie is directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out) and stars Zachary Levi (The Mauritanian), Grace Caroline Currey (Fall), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Lucy Liu (Kill Bill), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) and Meagan Good (Think Like A Man).

This movie kicks up the action scenes and special effects but the storyline lacks the heart and charm of the first film. I did love the incorporation of the mythological creatures, especially the villain's creatures and the unicorns. I will say the dragon was uneven with some sequences that were awesome and some that were too much. Once again Djimon Hounsou was excellent as the wizard and Liu and Mirren were great villains. The comedy was hit or miss with some good laughs here and there and some cheese also. Meagan Good looked amazing as always and I loved the cameo at the end. The ending credits sequence wasn't good.

Overall, this is an average addition to the super hero genre that's worth seeing once. I would score this a 5/10.

I did not know much about the daughters of Atlas before the film and I know only a little bit more now. Most of the movie was spent on the emotional state of the protagonist and his sidekick and tried to focus on comedy, rather than the story. Worse than the original and not as fun.

I do not know if Billy Batson is going to continue to play a part in the DCEU, but judging from this film, he will not be missed.

Sadly, the best part of the whole experience is the spoiled, uncredited appearance of a certain character.

Stick around for the credits scene, if you decide to watch it, but there is not much need for the one after credits.

Gonna be honest this was never a movie I was really hyped for, just like the first one and the final result it's kinda the same. It's an "okay" B grade movie. No disrespect, there must be movies like this too.

The story it's pretty basic and if you watch the trailers you can pick up the pieces quite fast.

Nothing really special, nothing intriguing, it is more predictable actually. The kids are now grown up and I wanted to see more of their chemistry, but instead we got more action, which is not bad on paper, but in reality it's kinda blunt and forgettable for the whole movie.

Talking about forgettable things...the villains fit pretty well in this category. I mean Helen Mirren is outstanding actress, but it's "just another villain" scenario.

The effects at some times look underwhelming...actually the trailers hinted at that.

If you liked the first movie, I guess you gonna like this one too. I don't have many problems with it, it was just boring in my eyes. The humor is okay for younger audience, but there are some good jokes for more matured audience too.

Overall it's "okay", but it's not gonna be one of the more rewatchable movies in the DC catalog...I guess.

The sequel takes us through the Philadelphia fiasco, where Billy and fellow foster kids are enjoying their superhero days in their annoying childish manner. Enters the three daughters of Atlas who wants to take back their powers stolen from them and wreck havoc in the human realm. It is upto the Philly fiasco to be the Champions to beat the goddesses and save the realm.

What works is the humor despite the teens being annoying enough. Billy still is going through the impostor syndrome, trying to figure out where ye fits in. The action set pieces are elaborate and are entertaining for most parts of it. The screenplay checks off all the stuff a comic book sequel needs and the dull moments are lesser than anticipated.

What doesn't work are the weak villains. Though Lucy Liu makes the best of what she can with her riding the dragon in the third act, the trio however come out as bland. I mean they are goddesses who get overwhelmed by a group of kids. Add to this, Zachary Levi as Shazam / Billy is less fun and more desperately trying to be funny. His character didn't fully work for me.

Overall, the film knows it's limitations and plays along.