Shazam! 2 Is A Simplistic Mess

Written By Joseph Todd

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a simplistic, convoluted, and generic mess with very little structure or uniqueness.

The film is forgettable.

Zachary Levi proves, without a doubt, that he was disastrously miscast as this still unnamed version of DC’s Captain Marvel. His acting is hammy, corny, and cranked up to over-the-top levels of cheesiness, making the first Shazam! film seem like a masterpiece by comparison. The writing is atrocious. And the acting is even more amateurish than that of the pilot episode for Gotham Knights on the CW.

Nowhere does this movie attempt to build upon established DCEU lore. The story is self-contained and uninspiring. It simply chugs along with false bravado confidently within its own substandard mediocrity. There is a scene early in Shazam! Fury of the Gods where Levi is complaining about his life struggles to a pediatrician while referring to himself as an “idiot.” I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment.

Shazam! 2 Is A Simplistic Mess

Do not expect any surprises or revelations; there are none to be had here. Shazam! 2 could not be bothered to carry over any of the major character arcs developed or resolved from the previous film. It is as though none of the characters experienced any growth beyond aging. The only bright spot of the film was leaked and ruined ahead of time, due to Warner Bros. Discovery panicking over the nonexistent buzz.

Yes, I am speaking about Wonder Woman’s dubious cameo.

They wasted Gal Gadot because WBD did not want to have another headless backlash like Superman from the neck down in the first Shazam! movie.

There were rumors Gadot would not be used in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and I truly wish she had not been. Wonder Woman is too much of a well-established character to be exploited as another cheap fan-service gimmick.

I recommend skipping this movie entirely. It consists of shoddy special effects, nonsensical story beats, as well as sad attempts to emulate the more humorous aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers even get name dropped.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods adds nothing to DCEU mythology. There were times during this movie I wanted to take a nap, eat a sandwich or do any number of better things The plot is so predictable, abysmal and boring, I found myself wondering if director David F. Sandberg read the script while intoxicated, having fallen in love with it through beer goggles?

I felt sorry for the supporting cast who did the best they could with what they were given to work with. Levi brings everybody down with his deplorable acting. I was nearly offended every single time Levi was onscreen. The character of Billy Batson is nearly 18-year- old now, but yet Levi depicts Shazam as an awkward seven-year-old in a grown man’s body.

There is nothing to be taken seriously about his performance. Which makes the overall plot of the film all the more baffling and ridiculous.

Not to spoil this gleaming heap of desperation for those who wish to experience it themselves, but there is a sacrifice of sorts. It is an old plot device that has been used countless times in cinema. It is not a particularly bad plot device, but it is completely dependent on how it is executed through the tapestry of the story being told.

Since Shazam! Fury of the Gods has little more than a paper thin outline cosplaying as a story, the sacrifice plot device will leave many viewers indifferent and unmoved.

I sincerely wanted to be proven wrong about this movie as early reviews leaned positive and used words like fun coupled with “If you enjoyed the first one.” I was not of Shazam!, but I can say without question it is a superior movie. So much so that I almost feel bad for being so critical of the first one initially.

Shazam! 2 Is A Simplistic Mess

The pediatrician says to Captain Marvel, “It sounds to me like you are experiencing impostor syndrome.” That is my favorite line because it truly encapsulates everything going on with DC Studios and WBD as of the time of this review. The studio is being run by impostors who have no clue what it takes to create great DC movies.

One more great quote from this dumpster fire: “Fun is for children!”

Save your money and wait for this to be released to broadcast television for free. No need to bother with streaming or video on demand either.

(Joseph Todd co-hosts a weekly YouTube show with Geekosity founder Mikey Sutton and Robert Meyer Burnett as ZodWriter.)