Shazam! Fury of the Gods - Furyless Pleasantries
Thoughts On: Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
The last gods trapped in a concealed realm are released by a foster family of kid superheroes.
Shazam is the only corner of the DC movie universe that I actually like and care to pay attention to. Both the first and second are far from masterclasses in screenwriting as it concerns plotting and the development of conflict through antagonists. Further to this, the physics and blocking of the CGI is imperfect and at times tacky. However, these are two really pleasant films, and such is true to their core. Taking a leaf of out the Spiderman playbook, Fury of the Gods matches its tone and intentions to its adolescent protagonists without pretence. In being dumb, harmless and unoriginal, Shazam manages to be extremely pleasant. It spends no time on political subtext; it also makes little to no effort to be darkly dramatic or at all serious. The dumbness of Fury of the Gods is indeed its biggest weakness and fault, but it's also exactly why I like it; so, in the end of the day, I am actually left unable to criticise it.
My sentiment is best exemplified with a quick look at the villains. They are highly unmotivated and not at all dangerous. The action set-pieces hinging on the threat they pose in the narrative are all undermined by the fact that the antagonists, like the film in general, feel harmless. Watching the trio of sisters engage in violence is then like watching storm troopers go to war: you know they're gonna miss when they shoot. But, what saves the film for me, is that this doesn't feel like a means to cover weak plotting. The antagonists do not want to destroy the world despite the implications that they do. This element of their character is never explored or fleshed out which leaves much feeling empty and clunky as it concerns them. Yet, I couldn't care. It's rather a relief to me that a superhero movie isn't attempting to create edgy, villainous and complicated antagonists; I feel it pointless in this era of commercial cinema that is seemingly inevitably distracted by politics as it concerns villainy.
Shazam feels like it was written by a child. This perfectly matches the tone of the characters and therefore grants the movie a very positive te (德). I vibed with this from the start to the end of the film, caring not to see our characters struggle in emotional turmoil and bloody battle, merely and simply enthralled by their clueless bumbling through a narrative that makes little to no attempt to be original, make a statement or stir its audience. What this does great is manage its tone and present an array of very pleasant characters in somewhat endearing cataclysms. This is where the focus of the narrative remains at all times, and it simply works. I have no interest in superhero movies these days (unless they're animated and feature Spiderman), and actually go out of my way to avoid almost everything Marvel outside of Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor, but I am as intrigued to see the next instalment of Shazam as I am Guardians. Lucy Lui is also, still, too fine.
