Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
Cast: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Meagan Good, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews, Rizwan Manji, Diedrich Bader, P.J. Byrne, David Lengel, Carson MacCormac, Evan Marsh, Gal Gadot.
The talk of superhero overload is prevalent in today’s world, perhaps too many characters from the two main players comic book houses, Marvel and D.C., have over-saturated the experience, and in some ways they have started to regurgitate the plots, nothing seems unique anymore, and for some, despite some truly thought-provoking and motivating television series which have come the viewer’s way, it is time to call time on a genre that as we stand on the continual abyss of financial meltdown and the growing sense of a war that is not of our making.
These opinions make a point, for the most part, and sometimes it shows in a film that in its first engagement with the fans was heartening, but which now as the tale of Billy Batson and his alter ego continues in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, lacks the passion, the understanding, even the humour of the original outing, and one that not even a brief cameo from Gal Gadot in her role of Wonder Woman can resolve.
D.C more than Marvel is in danger of losing its way, outside of the three big hitters, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and the outstanding series that revolves around John Cena’s Peacemaker, and the phenomenon that is Harley Quinn, it could be argued that nobody cares about the agenda of the company, nobody can truly get to grips with the universe they want to portray, and it seems as though the films are only being released so that the parent company can insist that they are competing with their great rivals.
The charm of the first film has been replaced by annoyance, too many side characters with no meaningful participation or growth, and aside from Jack Dylan Grazer’s turn as Freddy Freeman, it could be argued that none of the younger actors have displayed any reason to be truly involved in the story line or action.
Not even two women of immense stature on screen, the seismic brilliance of Helen Mirren and the insight of Lucy Lui in the roles of the daughters of Zeus can find a way to inspire the film to reach beyond what is effectively a dreary and unconsidered fan flick.
Time passes, unfortunately not quickly enough in the case of Shazam! Fury Of The Gods. A film that does little to release the grip of those calling for a period of rest from the superhero overload.
Ian D. Hall