“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” officially made its debut in theaters last weekend, and let’s say, the Gods’ fury was felt, some more than others. The first DC film back on the big screen since “Black Adam” (2022), starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the famous Shazam foe, Black Adam. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” introduces a new set of original villains not seen in comics, with the daughters of Atlas, starring Helen Mirren as "Hespera", and Lucy Liu as "Kalypso". This powerful goddess sister duo are hell-bent on stealing the SHAZAM family's powers and are well within their rights. In the previous film, “SHAZAM!”, it did a great job at keeping to the lightheartedness of Billy Batson gaining the powers of SHAZAM, while exploring his life as a child within the foster care system. The film was endearing and successful enough to result in a sequel that chose to explore more of Billy’s continuing struggle with the foster care system and his new challenge of working with his family as the champion. 

Following the events of “SHAZAM!” (2021), a now seventeen-year-old Billy is still trying to figure out the full extent of his powers. After making the conscious decision to share his SHAZAM powers with his family, Billy finds himself struggling to keep the balance within his family and against the forces at bay. The SHAZAM family looked visually stunning including the costume designs that highlighted the personalities and powers of each member. Unlike the other SHAZAM family’s full-body suits, Mary’s costume is a perfect replica of her original comic book skirt design but with the same red and gold color scheme as Billy’s. Not to mention her design resembles that of the Amazon warriors of Themsycira which further plays into the Greek mythos of the story. 

Watching the SHAZAM family work together caused adorable and comedic moments for each member to shine including the ever-sweet “Darla” played by Faithe Herman whom Meagan Good perfectly embodies in her performance. Grace Caroline Currey brought a gentle daringness to the character “Mary” by showing how well the character has settled into the superhero role while delivering the harsh reality of what it means to constantly be surrounded by children as an adult. The strongest moments in the film are with the SHAZAM family working together, which is something I’d like to see more of in the future.

The sequel film further explores the ramifications of Billy's careless actions through the daughters of the Greek Titan God Atlas, who is one of many Gods Billy possesses within his power. Each sister is a Goddess in every way, their powers easily translate immensely on the big screen. However, Lucy Liu delivers as the benevolent "Kalypso", by bringing the chaos and further proving the lesson on what happens when you try to play with fire… You get burned. The Greek mythos of the film also brought a meaningful edge on screen not only to the daughters of atlas but to the mystical creatures of the realms too. 

Asher Agner’s performance as Billy Batson left a resounding weight on screen as you begin to sympathize with Billy as he realizes how he is just a kid in way over his head. Unfortunately, this weight didn’t translate as well in Zachary Levi’s performance with these moments feeling a little off in between the overly comedic moments. However, Levi does deliver on the cheeky overconfidence of a teenager hiding behind the mask of a hero with access to superpowers. Perhaps if the audience were provided more time with a powered down Billy as he processes with growing up, maybe the climax would have brought more finality with the character. 

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is a fast-paced, action-packed film, full of cringe jokes that either made you chuckle or not. The plot point with Billy fearful of aging out of the system seemed rushed amid the high-stakes action. It was a principal element that could have been driven out a little more to make an impactful resolution on Billy’s character but felt forgotten as we headed towards the epic conclusion. The film was often predictable in most areas and became a classic game of cat and mouse between the SHAZAM family. The daughters of Atlas were a terrific addition to the film as original characters, but it felt like there were drawbacks to the characters to make room for comedic moments which were not necessary. 

The film did add in a few surprises from the comics while setting up the possible future of Billy/SHAZAM within James Gunn’s DCU. With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson no longer returning to the role as Black Adam, who’s to say what the future will hold for the man in black. SHAZAM is still a wonderful hero and deserves a role within the ever-growing DCU and hopefully fans will finally get to see the long-awaited clash with the exiled Champion. 

In the end, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” brought the wrath of Greek mythology on screen with frightening opposing forces in the daughters of Atlas. The film isn’t anything special but a soft reboot of the character and maybe that’s ok. It left you with a little something by connecting Billy and the SHAZAM family to realms and powers outside their own. It was a fun ploy on classic Greek mythos and why some of us despised reading the Odysseys back in high school.  If you ever want a film to enjoy with your family, then this film is for you. Overall, the film was a solid 5/10.