“Shazam: Fury Of The Gods” Lacks Excitement

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    HOLLYWOOD—I was actually a fan of the superhero flick “Shazam” starring Zachary Levi, as a kid who is gifted with superhero powers and forced to embrace those powers to defeat evil. This sequel, which of course is to be bigger and bolder than its predecessor is just not clicking on all cylinders. Bigger does not always mean better people. The first installment had fleshed out our hero a bit more and gave us a backstory to keep us invested into the character, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), and his alter ego Shazam (Levi).

    Shazam and his pals, yes, this is a superhero flick that consists of more than one hero, which is something that has not been that potent in the comic book universe as of late beyond “Guardians of the Galaxy” is fun to see again. It kind of reminds you why “X-Men” was so popular with audiences for years because it was a mix of different heroes with all various powers that made them standout from others.

    The family unit is strong, but they are drifting apart as the foster children are growing up and that fear of aging out of the foster system is a worry for Billy. Not to mention his adopted family which includes Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary Bromfield (Grace Caroline Currey), Eugene Choi (Ross Butler and Ian Chen), Pedro Pena (D.J. Catrona and Jovan Armand) and Darla Dudley (Megan Good and Faithe Herman). I loved seeing the dynamic of this family unit and I think it should have been explored even more in the narrative.

    Instead the focus seems to be a bit more on the adult version of these children and their fight to take down a new duo of villains, Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren). Yes, you have an Oscar-winner playing a villain and you start to question, why exactly would Mirren indulge herself in such a film. Her caliber is wasted in this flick to me people, the same with Liu who is no stranger to taking on a villainous role, just look at “Kill Bill Volume 1” people.

    Liu and Mirren play sisters of the powerful Atlas, and there goal is to seek some mysterious items to become all powerful. Those items include a broken staff, the Golden Apple and the seed of the Tree of Life. Stay with me people because it’s a lot of things clashing that is not as exciting as the writers expected it to be. The problem is there is too much going on with the story people. It’s not simplified and it takes the spectator out of the story.

    Then you also have the anti-hero of the sisters, Anthea (Rachel Zegler), who just happens to be Hespera and Kalypso’s younger sister. She is tied to her wicked sisters because they are blood, yet she sympathizes with Freddy and the others as global domination of the world is threatened.

    The one thing “Shazam: Fury of Gods” has going for it is the visual effects and action sequences. They are absolutely thrilling and exciting as hell to watch. This is what you want when it comes to an action/adventure, wild fight sequences, stunning visuals, explosions galore and visual effects that leave your tongue wagging. However, that plus in the movie alone will not save the dire narrative that is not as convincing for “Shazam: Fury of Gods.”