'Shazam! Fury of the Gods', the sequel to the story of an orphan boy who gained the power of the gods, bombed at the box office. Let's examine why the film about the team of 'Philadelphia Fiascos' became a fiasco for DC.
With thunder and lightning from a clear sky in the DC cinematic universe, cleansed by the snap of James Gunn, a greeting from the former gloom reached the viewer. In digital release, like the indefatigable Freddy Freeman, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" has already limped in. Let's figure out why even crutches didn't help the sequel walk confidently through its theatrical release.
Skimming the Myths: When Gods Are Mocked
Those who criticized the portrayal of Zeus, played by Russell Crowe in "Thor: Love and Thunder", haven't yet seen how mythological heroes can be turned into participants in a local amateur skit in just two hours.
As the viewer may remember from the original film (and if not, you'll be reminded), Billy Batson broke the Wizard's staff. The artifact shielded the world of gods from the world of humans, and now, having slipped through the fallen barrier, the daughters of the Titan Atlas have come to Earth to reclaim their stolen powers and restore their world from the seed of life.
The goddesses appear out of nowhere and commit their atrocities against humans, driven by the banal vengeance of the offended. And, it would seem, what do humans have to do with it? For a long time, even the motives of the antagonists, forgive Atlas, are impossible to fully comprehend with the mind. And when you can't understand with your mind, you just have to believe.
But believing the sisters, played by Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren, is also difficult. The first doesn't measure up to such a role, while the others have outgrown it, looking in their shiny vestments like grandmothers at a kindergarten morning party dedicated to myths. For how else can one explain the multi-racial nature of the ancient Greek gods and the motley crowd of evil minions, consisting of a dragon, minotaurs, cyclopes, harpies, and unicorns... Haphazardly united by a superficial knowledge of legends, the secondary characters, the disunity of the sisters, and the visual incompatibility block their perception as an active party and members of one family.
Pseudo-Family vs. Pseudo-Family
Opposing the goddesses is Billy Batson's family (Asher Angel). But "family" is too strong a word, because no familial bonds are built between the characters. The spotlights are on Billy, who tries in every way to keep his step-siblings together and close to him, obsessed with the fear of losing loved ones, as he has lost them before.
But are they loved? The connection between the characters is reflected solely at the level of the relationship between Billy and Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), who connect parallel storylines through their interaction, both of which, by the way, are underdeveloped. The rest are background, among which the character of Faithe Herman occasionally stands out, having delivered a couple of jokes and advertising slogans.
Paradoxically, the only decent joke in the film is about family, but even that pays homage to "Fast & Furious". Meanwhile, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" is almost a solo struggle for the upgraded Billy Batson (Zachary Levi). With himself in an attempt to overcome impostor syndrome and with the gods, who in over 6,000 years haven't learned to negotiate with each other.
It's Already a Diagnosis
The creators also fail to come to an agreement with themselves to maintain a balance between spontaneity and seriousness of what is happening. Absolutely all the characters are potential patients of a psychiatric ward. Billy deeply reflects, healing emotional wounds, and at the same time behaves frankly stupidly; the Wizard is subject to personality swings from a wise old man to a foolish hipster; a few minutes separate one goddess from betraying her family due to instantly arising love, while others are unable to take a definite side in their judgments, and even their pets obey their masters very selectively. The plot conflict arises only because the heroes are not at peace with their own selves.
Try the Rainbow
Failure to maintain the emotional proportions of the original film led to the sequel of "Shazam!" turning into a dumb and, unfortunately, soulless action movie, in which a wooden dragon and divine forces are fought with a handful of Skittles candy, which could only have been more directly advertised by shoving a pack into the viewer's screen.
Into Nowhere (Spoilers Ahead!)
Despite the uncertain future, the sequel has two post-credits scenes.
In the first, Agent Emilia Harcourt, who appeared in 'Peacemaker' (you can read about the acclaimed series in ), offers Shazam to join the 'Justice Society,' which turns into outright mockery of the team's unoriginal name. The second scene returns the viewer to the imprisoned Doctor Sivana ( Mark Strong ), who is visited for the second time by Mr. Mind.
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Open material
In the current reality, both post-credits scenes lose all meaning, because the 'Justice Society,' which debuted in "Black Adam" will likely fade into oblivion along with it, while Mr. Mind has crawled away forever. Hints at a continuation will most likely remain an open ending to the story of an orphan boy who gained the power of the gods.
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