So I took myself off to the cinema last night after a very long day at work. I fancied something vaguely light hearted, sort of familiar. I also qualified as a first aider on Friday, so that's what is new with me!
I wasn't expecting too much from the new Shazam movie if I'm honest. I hadn't heard too much about it, but then again I haven't been too active on my socials lately. I know I was heavily judged by my work friend and soon to be occasional cinema buddy when I said I was going, but she's not a massive superhero fan.
I'll be entirely honest, I wasn't at all motivated to go and watch the movie, it was simply a right place right time kind of deal. I was sort of intrigued at where Billy Batson was headed after the first one which I really enjoyed, but unfortunately I seem to have lost the spark for DC movies that I once had. Despite this, I went off, and I am actually really glad I saw this film. It is very homely, a found family of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations. I adored that, especially when Pedro decided to come out and everyone was like yeah we know kid. It wasnt a spectacle, it wasnt a massive turning point or distraction it happened and we all moved on just like it should be in real life.
Before we go any further, Lucy Liu villain mode is a flex. I wanted to see more, what depths would she go to, how far could she be pushed? I felt like this movie made her into a softer villain though, so she grew a tree and released a bunch of monsters just coz. I wanted to see her spiral because I know her talents and that she could have done that. Instead one minute she was a gentle villain with her sisters, then she branched off on her own with a little murder, then she died. Sorry spoilers. We could have had a Hela moment here (think Thor Ragnarok), I know different comics, but this was the path of wronged villainess the Daughters of Atlas could have achieved. These villains at the start of the movie were not even really villains. They wanted retribution, sure, but they also wanted their powers back and their home to be restored. Of course the goddess of Chaos then spiralled a little but that was to be expected. I liked how the golden apple and Chaos magic were explored here, usually known as the apple of discord and wielded by the goddess of chaos Eris (also known by several other spellings) we went down a different mythological route as we all know there are loads of different gods for the same thing.
Greek mythology is one of my interests. In fact all mythologies are pretty interesting to me, but I have a diploma in both Greek and Norse mythologies at present as compliments to my Egyptology degree. So my knowledge is pretty vast on the subject and I heavily enjoy new media exploring these old tales. DC seems to heavily rely on these myths and legends, whereas I've noticed Marvel is very Norse. Interesting.
Anyway, I felt like the villains of this story were set up really well. First we assume two blokes are rocking up in full armour to cause a little trouble. Then Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu take off their helmets and its like hell yea go ladies. These strong women are seen as menacing, mysterious, powerful. We find out early on that that is 100% the case, they are gods. By george do they make us know it. Then all of a sudden there is a third sister. She's less menacing than her sisters, despite her age she is innocent like a child, she is a good one. With this trio you have the hardened yet just elder (Mirren), the bloodthirsty and overlooked middle child who gives in to her demons in order to be seen (Liu), and the baby sister who is all sweetness and light and who the elder has a soft spot for. These women are all powerful but you can see they are siblings. This movie is all about family dynamics.
On one hand you have the super family. The found family. Billy is holding on too tightly because he is scared of being left behind again. We get an insight into his trauma as he is growing and seeing that even though he is a superhero now he is still a kid at heart. Levi plays this very well by the way. His siblings dont see his insecurities, they are all trying to break away and live there own lives without seeing how dependant Billy is on them now. He never had a family before and he is terrified of never seeing them again, if Mary goes to college she might never come back, if Freddy breaks away he has lost his best friend and brother. If he turns 18 his parents might not want him as they arent getting paid to keep him. This is why he doesnt call them mum and dad, he is so scared to break down that barrier only for them to push him out. Of course later in the movie all becomes good here and it truly is a heartwarming moment, but the scene that makes them all realise this, especially Freddy, is absolutely heartbreaking.
I'm not going to spoil it as it is a huge pivotal moment for the movie, but I just kept thinking about how that couldnt be. I both wanted what happened to be final and the mantel be passed on (this was a bloody Optimus Prime moment and I was dreading that Prime stayed down, although he too was brought back later) and for in some grasping at straws magical way the character rises again. The latter happened of course with yet another cameo from a member of the justice league, but I almost cried. It was Jack Dylan Grazer's performance that almost reduced me to tears, his reaction was heartbreaking. His whole acting throughout the movie was amazing and it was basically his movie, who are we kidding. Well deserved.
I liked that Shazam: Fury of the Gods brought back the Wizard. I also really liked his glow up at the end of the movie, that was good. This film was also a lot more light hearted and funny than the first one, setting it apart from any other DC movie (aside from the likes of Birds of Prey or Suicide Squad, but both of these are very bleak in humour and focus on the bad guys) this made it quite family friendly and I adored the fantasy elements. I mean I know the whole thing was fictional, but I mean more in the sense of secret libraries and self writing pens. It was like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings bled into this a little which was kinda cool.
There is at least one post credits scene, it was getting really late and I'd worked a really long shift so didn't fancy staying until after the credits rolled, especially as the last two times I've been tricked (Black Adam & The Batman) so I watched the first one just after the main credits. I had no idea who those agents were, nor am I familiar with the Justice Society but Ima roll with it and I'm sure I will find out. I do believe one of them was James Gunn's wife but that was from a facebook post so I dont know.
I want to see Helen Mirren and even Lucy Liu in more movies like this though. I feel like they have gotten to the fun stages of their careers where a role isnt life or death. Both of these women are very established and deserve to have the kooky villain roles. I've even seen today that Mirren is involved with the new Barbie film so that is going to be pretty cool. I want to see more of these idols though, as a young woman I find them inspiring and empowering and omg just yes.
I'm sorry, I'm unable to articulate a lot today because I'm very busy but I wanted to get this review out while it is fresh in my mind or else we will be here in 6 months time and I wont remember much.
Would I watch this movie again? Yes, I think I would. It probably wouldnt have the same impact the second time round. The laughs would still be funny, the sad scene would still probably hit me the same, but I dont think it would pack the same punch. Background noise is probably where this is headed in my world. I'm not going to actively seek it out again, but it is watchable and calming. The skittles endorsement was amusing, I'm not going to lie. But overall I dont think this movie does too much harm, just a gentle 2 hours or so without a great deal to take away. Dont get me wrong, I like this about a movie. I dont want to still be sitting here 3 days later dwelling on things or themes or wondering how it connects to the bigger picture. I know enough about the DCU to figure it out later, I'm not too interested in the grand picture I just wanted to watch a fun movie to distract me from other things.
I wanted more shock factor definitely. I wanted darker villains, maybe a less predictable story (but I enjoyed what we got), I wanted better fights, destruction, evil at its core for poor Billy to really shine. I would have liked more Billy, or more of the kids in general to be honest. Maybe another look at how they all coped un-super. We saw an awful lot of Zach which is fine, it's his movie, but sometimes Bananaman needs to be little Eric for a while ya know? I just think maybe this movie was a little too family friendly in places, nothing wrong with that, I still watch children's cartoons for crying out loud. But I expected more. I wanted wow and I got hmm okay.
I did like all the little easter eggs and references thrown in throughout the film. That Fast and Furious one was good.
I'm going to award Shazam: Fury of the Gods a 6/10. I liked the badass villains as mentioned but they lost their steam when heading to the middle of the film. I'm not so sure adding a love interest was a good move (for Freddy I mean) but it happened, it was vaguely plot relevant but could easily have done without the typical teenage romance stuff. I didn't like so much how our supes were so, I dont know, almost bored with their roles as saviours. How they treated Billy who tried to be fair to them all the time. I get these are kids but their dynamic seemed sort of off, especially as the adult versions. The chemistry was okay between them all though. I'm not going to read too much into it, it's another movie to pass the time.
So what did you think? Yay or Nay for the Shazam sequel? Let me know on my socials!
Catch ya next time!
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