Shazam Fury Of The Gods

I felt they were quite deliberate in showing little for this movie.

The only things I knew going was Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu were the baddies, there was a dragon involved, and....Captain Marvel's suit turned a bit black. Not much to go on but I'm happy to report I really liked the movie! I even will say I liked it better than the first with this movie doing what a good sequel should, expanding the world, furthering the characters, and progressing the plot. So we pick up some time after the first, it's stated Billy will be 18 in a few months but I truthfully can't remember his age in the first film so forgive me on that, but Billy has become a bit of a control freak trying to corral and focus the family's efforts as a group when two ancient gods have a quarrel with a familiar wizard in this world and conflict of course arises. Now I will state the control freak thing isn't given much weight in the story, it's no character arc part two for Billy, so the movie primarily goes business as usual for a superhero film. You get your fights, learning bits about the villains, seeing some creature fodder, and a higher stakes scenario for the family to resolve. One aspect I oh so wish they delved much deeper into is the goddesses have a deep rooted hatred for the wizard because he used the staff to actually steal the gods powers and thusly caused their realm to crumble, because that is a cool ass story where this benevolent figure who creates heroes did some shitty things that could be construed as evil, kinda forcing the idea of you're the villain in someone else's story and not always a good guy, but it's barely touched. However the dynamic between our antagonists are interesting when it's revealed the duo is actually a triumvirate of trouble and none fully get along with the other, it gives some interesting dynamic and good characterization. But the same aspect of inner dynamic didn't transfer well to our Shazam fam, they're much the same except for Freddie and Mary who just want to do their own thing with their own lives. It's not badly written or anything but it's just the status quo, but I can appreciate that. Not every superhero film has to keep pushing the envelope and craft a deep emotionally complex story so that doesn't bother me greatly. The stuff the movie actually gives besides a few groaner lines hither and thither, is good stuff! Now that Zachary Levi has room to spread his wings more, he projects a lot more personality and still captures that teen awkwardness. Jack Dylan Grazer, the friggin' MVP of this whole damn movie, screw Billy Badass Freddie Badass is where it's really at and he kicks ass throughout! Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu are actually pretty intimidating from the word go, especially in their opening scene and the fact they never drop to the level of quips and humor helps tremendously. We don't see much of the kids until near the end but I applaud them for not recasting anybody to increase the continuity. And it's official Meagan Good is my favorite of the family hands down, never to be topped, I cannot get over her adorable and fun personality. She saves kittens before humans, that is a girl who knows her priorities and lives rent free in my heart of hearts. Of course the acting is good from all our major players, some of them bringing their A-game acting, and I bring more good news! Mary, still a babyface. Thank the gods. The CG has improved, giving us a bounty of fantastical creatures beyond a Godzilla wannabe dragon, blue fire breath is still neat though, and any fan of greek myth will have a smile on their face. I really have no clue what the future holds for all these movies releasing this year, we still got Flash and Aquaman but I sense this is probably gonna be their last bow. I hope not! But my pessimistic side is outweighing my optimistic side profusely. Nothing lasts forever. And on that somber bombshell it is time to end, I still very much enjoyed the movie and I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10! Thank you so much for joining another week of rambles and reviews, and next week we're diving back in time for some Keanu action before John Wick 4.

In Retrospect: Shazam

You know man, this movie has a lot to enjoy but it really puts me in a bad mood at the end.

I'm really trying here with all of my might not to just devolve into this cyclone, this maelstrom of anger and utter fucking frustration the likes of which even GOD has never seen so I'm going to attempt to just talk about the movie. Shazam has lost none of it's fun luster in the intervening 4 years, sweet Samhain has it been that long? And I feel I appreciated aspects much more than the first go around, in particular the whole character of Billy Badass because the whole point of Captain Marvel is you pretty much gotta be a virtuous, pure of heart, selfless individual to even obtain the powers of the wizard Shazam, but this version of Billy isn't as altruistic and much more just a teenage kid, dare I say a little shit at times. He's not a completely bad kid by any stretch, but he does have several moments of selfishness, cowardice, and emotional distance to people but the beauty of it is the movie is all about the arc. We see him grow, change, and become a hero at the end and it doesn't feel like a failed attempt at character growth or anything like that cause it's done well and not super in your face. And well the performances of Asher Angel and Zachary Levi did not hurt one bit, they are what makes the movie as fun as it is. Mark Strong in terms of villains for the DC movies may be low tier but he still cuts an intimidating presence and does quite well. I'm actually really happy Djimon Hounsou isn't dead as he appeared to be in this movie and he will return in Fury Of The Gods and I'm really interested what part he may play in that. What I'm also curious about is if they will decide to adapt that stupid ass decision of Mary Marvel turning heel like in Countdown To Final Crisis, hopefully not because some comic book ideas just should never be brought to the screen. As one last huge positive before delving into one aspect I wasn't keen on, Faithe Herman and her grown up counterpart Meagan Good still own my heart completely. They just have this infectious degree of cuteness and I am powerless in their wake, easily my favorite of the whole family group and the only competition is Billy himself. This may sound terribly strange to say considering the time period we live in, but I really did not like the seven deadly sin monsters due to one specific factor that they are all CGI. There was just something about this movie where it felt so flat and fakey, and this is coming from the series of films that gave us Doomsday, Steppenwolf, and not Cheetara from Wonder Woman 84, and I think I can pin it down to they're kinda gaseous creatures that can take a solid shape so there's no weight or substance to them despite some interesting designs. But that's truthfully the biggest mark against this movie. Well....god fucking dammit, I knowww I know, he was filming a different movie at the time but fuck me sideways it has aged poorly and like I said I'm trying here. It's not working in the slightest but I'm trying. Just why? He was there! You had Superman ready in the wings and you did fuck all!! You what, let some C grade television company have any fucking semblance of a stake in the future of your projects and company, decided to do a shake up, and pretty much shit canned a series that while was finding it's footing early on when it settled we actually got some good movies out of it but oh no wait, I'm sorry, we can't have that. He is GONE, my patience has snapped, you have no sympathy from me and all I can say is catch you later you disappointing fucking traitors! Waste of my time. I'm out. Good movie, happy to see it again, fingers crossed for the second but time is running out for this series it seems. 3.5 stars, 7.5/10!

Shazam

That was fun, let's do it again!

Well the reactions are true, Shazam is a great fun superhero movie! I will admit I only knew bits and pieces about Captain Marvel, so this is my first proper introduction and I want to know more! I like how it's a fun superhero movie, now I love the more dark stuff out there like The Dark Knight and Watchmen but sometimes you just want to have fun and this film greatly delivers. When talks started and we were getting DeWayne Johnson as Captain Marvel I though that was a good choice and Zachary Levi does an outstanding job. Cause you have to remember Captain Marvel is a kid who was granted superpowers so you need an adult actor that captures the spirit of a child and he does that incredibly well, I also like the fact that he doesn't start saving people and being heroic, he's a kid who just so happens to look like an adult so he goes off and does adult stuff because that is what you would do! If you were 11 or 12 years old and got superpowers just like him, you'd do this stuff too! He's not always a nice kid, he can be greedy, he can be a bit stuck up, he can put his needs before others, that's being a kid so I don't wanna hear any, "Oh Captain Marvel isn't a hero! He didn't do anything until the end!" annoying crap like that. He learns and takes some responsibility, he grows into the character. The only thing I really hated was how they teased Superman, because unfortunately Henry was shooting the Mission Impossible movie so he couldn't commit to the part and that sucks, they would have great scene chemistry! Beyond that, it's a good two thumbs up from me! But where do we go from now? We have the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie coming out this October but beyond that....? I have no idea. We're getting another Wonder Woman movie sometime soon but beyond that I have no clue. So it's interesting to see what DC will have for us in the future.

Well that's all for now, but our comic book buisness isn't finished yet. Tune in next week for more!