focuses on the foster siblings’ insecurities about growing older and losing everything they hold dear. They’re teenagers now and their superhero-based responsibilities mean they’re growing up faster than the average youngster would. Even so, as adolescents trying to figure life out and find their non-superhero places in the world, they don’t have all the answers. This creates individual and collective frustration in and among our heroes.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods sidelines its overarching theme in favor of the superhero genre’s prerequisite CGI-laced showdownsis at its strongest thematically. The aging of its primary cast – and their characters – allowsto explore more mature subject matter that its predecessor couldn’t, such as finding your true identity and remembering what’s most important to you.
As the movie transitions into its action-fuelled second and third acts, it sidelines its overarching theme in favor of the superhero genre’s prerequisite CGI-laced showdowns. Films of this ilk inevitably lean into VFX-heavy set-pieces, especially as their endgame approaches, but I can’t help but feel’s primary concept could’ve been explored in greater detail.