How To Tank A Decent Movie According to DC

Shazam! Fury of the Gods [2023]

Film

Back in October, there was the rather surprising news that writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran would be co-leads for the new DC Studios division of Warner Brothers. The news also came with some seismic shifts in the slate of films coming out, and specifically who will be in those films. Almost immediately Gunn came out to say that Superman actor Henry Cavill would not return, along with announcing alongside Safran the whole first "phase" of the new DC film and television projects.

None of which pertain to current DC films or shows, not Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, honestly not even the highly anticipated The Flash. The only announcement of substance (pertaining to existing films) was that Matt Reeves' The Batman will continue to exist outside of this new universe, which means more Battinson which is good for society.

While the DC universe has been astoundingly fractured over the past oh I don't know, forever, the new leadership is taking a more Marvel-esque approach. Or at least they're trying to.

However, they're currently in this state of "oh shit we still have some movies from the old DC maybe we can just sweep them under the rug," which has so far turned out terribly. Not only is the new Shazam! Fury of the Gods absolutely tanking in the box office, but it almost has nothing to do with the quality of the film. Instead, DC leadership has cast this film to the wayside and decided to address whatever happens later. A sure-fire way to get the average moviegoer to go see your film, right?

Now that we understand why the box office numbers for a superhero movie in 2023 are abysmal, it should be a cakewalk to be honest, let's talk about the actual film.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods [2023]

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a continuation of the 2019 film Shazam!, showing how Billy Batson (Asher Angel) acquires the powers of the gods and becomes Shazam (Zachary Levi). At the end of the first film, Shazam is able to also bestow these powers unto his adoptive family members which leads us to the second film, where the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler) want to take these powers back. The first film was a fun exploration of the duality of Batson and Shazam, diving into what would happen if you gave a 14-year old superhero powers. Unfortunately, Shazam! Fury of the Gods strays away from the formula that worked rather well for me in the first film.

But, I will say. This is still a pretty fun film that I enjoyed! Exploring more of the magical world behind Shazam and the mythology within the comics is something I admired. As someone that knows nothing about Shazam and his world I found a lot of the simultaneous world building and exploration enthralling. Not to mention the emotional development of Batson and his adoptive parents Victor (Cooper Andrews) and Rosa Vasquez (Marta Milans) felt well done, with a powerful heartfelt moment in the third act.

Unfortunately, the rest of the third act is where it loses you. Overall, the movie is somewhere between 20-30 minutes too long, and it really shows. At one point there's an entire Skittles commercial just built into the movie, with Darla (Faithe Herman) yelling "taste the rainbow" multiple times in the span of 30 seconds. When you're building up to this cataclysmic finale that introduces swathes of nightmarish creatures ravaging the streets of Philadelphia the last thing you would want to do is side bar for a quick candy plug. By the time you get to the final battle you're pretty tired of watching all of the back and forth and are ready to go home. Which of course is a pretty big bummer when watching an action packed superhero film.

Again, while not my favorite film by any means, I felt that Shazam! Fury of the Gods was middle of the road entertainment that I enjoyed! Now that we have two of these movies can we please get more of Jack Dylan Grazer! He has some serious comedy talent with a script and I think we're underutilizing it.

Froth

What better way to enjoy the new Flash movie than with the Flash Point Rosé Wild Ale from Dwinell Country Ales!

Oh wait.

This wasn't the new Flash movie was it?

I guess I'm just as confused about what I'm doing with superhero movies as the DC execs making them!!

Take notes people, this is called being committed to the bit. Because I did seriously drink the Flash Point and until the Flash movie actually comes out and proves Tom Cruise isn't full of shit I'm just going to consider Shazam and the Flash one in the same.

Anyways, the Flash Point is a wild ale that is fermented in oak, giving you some nice oakey tones you'd find in a whiskey. Furthermore it has some nice grape flavors to it and that lends it a really refreshing rosé type of coloring. Crisp and rather effervescent its a solid drink for a hot day but not something that I would opt for again. Much like Shazam! Fury of the Gods I enjoyed it, but would I enjoy it again? Probably not.