Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers, is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to 2019’s Shazam!. The sequel sees the return of Zachary Levi as the superhero version of Asher Angel’s Billy Batson alongside his found family of foster kids turned superheroes. Djimon Hounsou reprises his role as the Wizard here, and Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, and Rachel Zegler join the cast in new roles. This sequel looks to be one of the biggest films of the month even as it comes toward the end of this iteration of DC’s film universe – let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: C+; it’s definitely not a bad time at the theater, just not anything revolutionary.

Should you Watch This Film? If you’re looking for a classic big-budget blockbuster theater experience, this one’s worth checking out. It’s definitely a fun time out.

Why?

                Shazam! Fury of the Gods carries on from the surprise success of the first film by maintaining most of what made that film so enjoyable – its blend of humor and family drama with plenty of ridiculous superhero action. In this case, Fury of the Gods feels less original than the first and feels more like a recent Marvel film, complete with a promising start, messy third act, and completely unexplained and unnecessary cameo from the wider universe. The film’s formulaic feel doesn’t keep it from being a rousing good time in terms of action and comedy.

                All of the action sequences in this sequel carry on the success of the first, and actually improve on it in some places, showcasing Shazam and his family’s heroic capabilities against disasters, monsters, and villains. The bridge sequence at the start features the whole family and allows each of their personalities to shine in endearing fashion, even if the set-up for the scene feels a bit underwhelming. The siblings’ fight with the Daughters of Atlas showcases some fun powers from Mirren and Liu and gives that classic hard-hitting superhero combat, backed by a menacing series of monologues from Mirren’s Hespera. The final sequence of the family fighting Greek monsters and Shazam fighting a dragon is a reminder of just how wacky the IP really can be and again brings the proper stakes to the film’s third act, even if it’s all a bit more contrived than it has to be.

                The film’s comedy might be its crowning achievement. Obviously, Zachary Levi’s teenager in an adult’s body performance continues to shine, but it was Djimon Hounsou and Jack Dylan Grazer who were getting the biggest laughs from the audience in my theater. They get an extended buddy comedy sequence, which was entirely unexpected but not at all unwelcome. Grazer and Hounsou are the two actors most committed to their performances in the film, and watching the two of them play off of each other – a two-time Oscar nominated character actor and one of the kids from the It remake – shouldn’t work, but it does simply because each actor clearly enjoys the role he is in and brings plenty of charisma to the comedy.

                Fun action and some surprising comedic sequences keep Shazam! Fury of the Gods enjoyable even with its messy and predictable script, making it a solid theatrical outing – a classic popcorn pic if you will. Don’t expect to hear much else about the film, particularly with the other more critically acclaimed blockbusters that have already released and are still to come in March, but if you need something to watch in the next week, there’s worse ways to spend money than by supporting your local theater and watching this fast-paced superhero flick. Check it out if you’d like.