Shazam! Fury of the Gods: An Entertainment Review

By: Payton Logan

Over spring break, I went to the theaters (an IMAX theater, no less) to see the long-anticipated second Shazam movie. Personally, I greatly enjoyed the first movie (and saw it with friends multiple times), so I was very excited to see the sequel in-person. (Note: there will be no spoilers in this review!)

In a nutshell, this movie is centered around a found-family of newly made super-heros dealing with growing apart, along with the wrath of some angry gods in search of the magic that was stolen from them. There is a lot of action and comedy in this story, and a lot of teenagers today can likely relate to the messages about growing up and finding your place in life. There’s also a cute love storyline that involves a lot of complications, but it still works out in the end.

I got a kick out of the comedic relief and jokes in the movie. The little sister, Darla, is hilarious with her annoying-younger-sibling jokes and her love for Skittles. I also found it very funny that another D.C. character makes a cameo towards the end of the movie, which is timed perfectly and brings even more intrigue to the character dynamics. There is another character whom I find very interesting, since she appears to be a bad guy, but in this film, not everyone is just “good” or just “bad”.

The storyline and the history behind the magic of the gods are very fascinating, since the filmmakers didn’t go in-depth about it in the first movie. I learned more about the mythological aspects of this type of magic present in the D.C. world. In addition, I believe they cast some very good actors to play the new roles as the god trio that is the “villain” group who instigates the entire conflict of the plot.

There are a few emotional scenes that kind of hit home for me, since one of the main focuses of the movie is found family. I won’t spoil anything, but this film also highlights that even when times are tough, there’s always something better waiting on the other side.

Overall, I truly adored this movie, and I would either rate it at the same level as the first movie or higher than the first. If you enjoyed the first film, I would certainly recommend that you see this sequel, or else you might miss out on a new superhero favorite.

(Still shot from Shazam! Fury of the Gods of the superhero versions of the six foster siblings. Photo credits to imdb.com)