Shazam!, released in 2019, was the story of Billy (Asher Angel), a teenage boy granted the ability to transform into an adult, off-brand Superman (Zachary Levi) with the simple cry of the film’s title. Today it is rarely upheld as a highlight in DC’s catalogue, but at a time in which the studio’s output so often felt exhaustingly cataclysmic, it was refreshing to see a superhero movie that forefronted sweetness and sincerity.
What a difference four years make. Shazam!’s sequel, Fury of the Gods, has now been sent out, defenceless, into DC’s cinematic no man’s land. The film marks one of the last breaths of an old regime at the studio, which is now under the control of Peter Safran and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Their universe will presumably dispense with the dishevelled approach to tone and continuity that characterised the tenure of their predecessor Walter Hamada. His DCU could never decide whether it wanted to emulate Marvel or do the total opposite, so you’d get films embodying the very best (The Suicide Squad) and the very worst (Suicide Squad) of recent comic book fare. Fury of the Gods lands in the frustrating middle: a film that isn’t without promise, but feels far too messy and corporatised to have any real affection for.
