Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel, and probably the last Shazam! movie for a while. With the reboot coming later this year, any setup this has for an end to a trilogy is up in the air.

Directed by David F. Sandberg, who I loved for Lights Out. It's interesting that James Wan, known for horror took David F Sandberg under his wing and now they both direct major DC super hero movies. They should really stick to horror. Maybe I'm just biased because I love horror.

Henry Gayden is back in the writing room, even though it wasn't the writing that brought people to see the first Shazam! This time I think the writing is actually worse. There are subplots that land and some that feel overly forced and politicized. Some actors didn't get enough dialogue or scenes to do much in. Some characters felt throwaway and to check a box.

Grace Caroline Currey was top-billed or at least is at the top of the list for IMDB. She really carries the film for Shazam, she makes all the smart choices since Billy is still too stupid to string a sentence together. He still acts like he's thirteen even though he's supposed to be turning eighteen.

Zachary Levi plays Shazam again and this time he's lacking even more intelligence. I wish the ending would have landed the way they were going with. They just had to mess it up and it makes Levi's send off even more distasteful since we'll probably never see him as Shazam again.

The visual effects were pretty bad. I look forward to Corridor making fun of them later this year. The only saving grace of the film was Rachel Zegler's charismatic performance regardless of bad writing. It almost made me forget how disappointing West Side Story was.

All in all the movie felt longer than it needed to be, not enough money was spent on visual effects, or the team wasn't proficient enough. I would never want to watch this again, but it has some saving grace. Result: C-

Comments

Weapons (2025)

Weapons is written and directed by Zach Cregger , who previously made Barbarian . Here, he delivers his best work yet, creating a film that feels like Pulp Fiction with a horror twist. The nonlinear storytelling, sharp tension, and bold tone make it one of the most unique films in recent years and, for me, the best movie of the year so far. Julia Garner , fresh off her roles in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Wolf Man , gives her strongest performance of the year. She brings a layered intensity to her role, balancing fear, cunning, and vulnerability in a way that keeps you glued to her every move. Josh Brolin is at his most gripping since No Country for Old Men . His presence commands the screen, and he uses his experience to create a menacing yet magnetic performance that elevates every scene he’s in. Alden Ehrenreich delivers the best performance of his career. He completely disappears into his role, showing a range and charisma that surpasses anything he’s done befor...

Aquaman (2018)

Aquaman, another installment into the DC universe of films, and the first time his origin story has been told on the big screen. Written and directed by James Wan , Aquaman is brought to life with beautiful shots and stunning CGI. There were four other writers to make sure that this movie was a hit. DC needed a win and hadn't had one since Wonder Woman. Geoff Johns also helped write the movie and it shows. Jason Momoa hasn't been this great since he played Kal Drogo in Game of Thrones. The humor is sometimes trying a bit too hard but it's nothing that ruins the movie. He's not a typical Aquaman and that's okay. This movie really isn't for the comic book nerds, they're gonna go see it either way. Amber Heard is surprisingly decent as Mera. I thought, going in, that she was going to be the worse part of the movie. You might recognize her from Drive Angry with Nicolas Cage. I was worried about Patrick Wilson as King Orm. His hair was pulled back ...

Am I Racist? (2024)

Am I Racist? is a satire and mockumentary about the anti-racist movement in the USA. I had seen Justin Folk's earlier movie called What is a Woman? and I enjoyed it, this didn't land as well and came across really as just a political statement. There is a tad bit of Borat in the film where Matt Walsh goes "undercover" where he just puts on a wig and wears tight jeans. The tagline of "A comedy to "D.E.I" for" didn't really land as I didn't really laugh. Matt Walsh is a conservative content creator for the Daily Wire. He tries to show how hypocritical some people are but at some point, the film just felt repetitive and didn't really have much to say. All of the paid interviews are very short for how much they spent to get them to speak. It also has a political lean which I expected but I didn't expect them to lean this hard into it. The film could have been structured better and had a better message. Result: C

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog