Shazam – Fury of the Gods picks up two years after the events of the first film. For the past decade and a half, we have been inundated (happily so) with superhero movies. We have watched and waited with baited breath for the next installment of our favorites. Shazam? It was fun the first time around but you wouldn’t really say “Hey, when’s the next one?” Well, Shazam Fury of the Gods snuck in quietly and made the big red guy a sure favorite.
This second installment was like a breath of fresh air… laced with your favorite fruity scent. It makes you inhale and exhale with a satisfying “Aaaaaahhh”. That is, after you stop laughing and clapping. Because it IS highly entertaining. Even more than the original. If you’re familiar with the tv series featuring nerds and a blonde.. and how they make you laugh every single episode. And not just laugh “Ha Ha” but laugh and chortle with glee…this is the same kind of vibe. Having Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu in this second installment lent weight to it all. The past year has made me slightly cynical with the women power movement of Hollywood but this movie made it feel natural. Nothing was in your face, nothing was rammed down your throat. There were powerful women but they weren’t trying to make any sort of statement.
They were simply two veteran actresses decked out in godly status outfits having fun. It was par for the course and felt just right. And fun is the operative word here, as let’s not forget, all the lead superheroes are, underneath it all, still just kids. That underlying theme is what sets the Shazam films apart from other superhero movies, in any universe. It is part wish fulfillment, part child empowerment, and yet all very, very cool. The humor is irreverent, and slightly immature but it works with the premise. While the stakes are high enough to cause tension, the movie does not take itself too seriously at all. It is superhero entertainment dialed up to wacky.
There has been a lot of concern and speculation about what the future of the DC Universe is going to look like with major changes still taking shape. Because of that the future of the Shazam series of movies has fallen into doubt. But! If you stay around long enough, you will catch two post credit scenes that tease what could be coming next, giving a glimmer of future possibilities. Whether as a part of the new streamlined, rebooted DCU or under the company’s unrelated but accompanying Elseworlds series of media, Shazam is a keeper, and it would do the company well to keep ‘em coming.

(AJ and Margaret Siytangco)