The Stream: Full of holes and the dialogue is a bit annoying

The Big Screen: Some good laughs and action sequencces

The Final Bill: A nice superhero-action flick about family and for the whole family

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: David F. Sandberg
Writers: Henry Gayden, Chris Morgan, Bill Parker (Shazam created by)
Stars: Grace Caroline Currey, Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (violence, slight language)
Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes (Mid-credit scene and end of credit scene will take you to 2 hours 8 minutes)
Production Companies: New Line Cinema, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros.
Platform: Released in theaters March 17, 2023 – on HBO Max in about 45 days
Notable Trailers: Barbie, Dungeon and Dragons, The Super Mario Bros, Little Mermaid, Air, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Streamers, Captain Sparkle Fingers aka Low Voltage aka Max Voltage aka Captain Marvel aka Shazam is back in the theaters. This week the sequel to the DC Comic series is released in theaters, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The film continues the story of teenage Billy Batson, who upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!,” is transformed into his adult superhero, Shazam. Teenage shenanigans ensue.

First, if you didn’t see the first movie, it’s readily available right now. Do you have to watch the first one to understand what’s going on? No, not really. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing. For the bad, this movie is kind of supposed to take place directly after the first movie yet somehow it feels years later. For the good, you really can jump right in on this one and not miss much.

As for the plot, it’s a cute family story of love, acceptance, and sacrificing for loved ones; but the rest of the story is a bit hole-y. Like “holy,” because of the story with the gods, but also because I kept asking myself why something was happening or not. I’ll throw in a couple “huhs” as well but then I remembered this is a DC Entertainment movie. Don’t think too much or you’ll ruin the movie for yourself. By the end, all of the questions are held in suspense just for the sake of entertainment.

For what it’s worth, the movie is entertaining. There are a lot of action sequences mixed with some annoying yet charming family comedy. Yes, there are some laugh out loud moments, too. Anyway, what else can we ask of DC? Actual content?… No, no that’s not who Shazam is! They kept it to the essence and for that I’ll praise them. If I were just watching a superhero movie, I’d probably be a bit perplexed and taken aback. Nevertheless, there’s a dragon! I’m not sure that dragon understands how its own powers work, but that’s for it to figure out over the alleged 6000 years plus of life. Other than that, the cast did what they had to do. The villains led by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu are pretty killer. We’ve seen similar powers in pretty much all other movies, but DC found a way to make these ladies still slightly frightening. Outside of them, the only standout is the occasional Meagan Good sighting, which is always a pleasure.

At the end of the day, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is good family, superhero flick. It’s not going to blow you away, but you’ll laugh throughout, enjoy the action sequences but also question how we got here. With all of that, grab a bowl of popcorn when you watch the matinee showing.