Film Review: "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (2023).

"Oh. My. Gods." This is Shazam! Fury of the Gods. This superhero film directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, and based on the DC Comics character created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, and produced by DC Studios. It is the sequel to Shazam! (2019) and the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film ontinues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!," is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam.

In April 2019, with the successful opening of Shazam!, Gayden was revealed to be penning the sequel. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran were also expected to return. In June, Zachary Levi confirmed that he was returning to star in the sequel, and revealed that writing had begun ahead of a planned filming start in mid-2020. In December, Sandberg and much of the first film's crew were confirmed to return, when New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures scheduled the sequel for an April 1, 2022 release date. In April 2020, this was delayed to November 4, 2022, and delayed again to March 17, 2023, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, during the virtual DC FanDome event, the film's title was revealed to be Shazam! Fury of the Gods, with returning cast members confirmed including Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Faithe Herman, Meagan Good, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Ross Butler, Jovan Armand, and D. J. Cotrona. In September, Levi said filming would begin in early 2021. In October, the film's release was delayed again to June 2, 2023. In January 2021, Good said filming would begin that May. By late May, Djimon Hounsou was confirmed to reprise his role. Moreover, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late August. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2022, Warner Bros. adjusted its release schedule due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the workload of visual effects vendors. The film was moved up to December 16, 2022. In April, the film's release date was pushed back five days to December 21. In August, after WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio delayed the film to March 17, 2023 to help spread out the marketing and distribution costs for its feature films. By the start of November, Sandberg confirmed that the final cut was complete and ready for release.

Levi has never been better as he throws punches in all directions and his comedic skills are spot-on. Zegler, Liu and Mirren bring real gravitas to this free for all. But when it's said and done, way too generic for this kind of fair.

Overall, not as good as the first film. While the sequel is bigger and funnier, the story is more uneven. However, it does succeed in places where the previous one failed, it has more gravitas.

Simon says Shazam! Fury of the Gods receives:

Also, see my review for Shazam! and Black Adam.