Ok, so I know I shouldn't have - but I did enjoy this. "Billy" (Zachary Levi/Asher Angel) and his gang of rather hapless super-heroes locally lauded as the "Philadelphia Fiascos" find themselves pushed to the very limits when the daughters of the legendary "Atlas" manage to breach a magical boundary between their world and our's and are soon on the hunt for the magical staff that "Billy" snapped in two at the end of the last film (remember?). The daughters are led by the menacing "Hespera" (Dame Helen Mirren) with her potent sidekick "Kalypso" (Lucy Liu) and the slightly more humane "Anthea" (Rachel Zegler) making up this dangerous triumvirate. What now ensues are some genuinely entertaining set piece battles that unlike so many from the MCU, are based on creatures from mythology and do not drag on interminably. Levi is as much an anti-hero as you can imagine, his tongue firmly in his cheek - though not so much as Dame Helen's - as he and his gang look hopelessly - and continuously - outgunned, outmanoeuvred and outwitted. Can they rally and save the day before carnage ensues and mankind is wiped out? Nope, not a shred of jeopardy here - but the two hours just flew by. It's fun. It's not trying to offer us any grand philosophies, or complex time-shifting science. It's a lightly comedic adventure film that rarely stops for breath, uses state of the art special effects to enhance the story rather than dominate it, and by the end I was ready to remember why I quite enjoyed the original from 2019. All of this said, I fear they will try to squeeze a third from the franchise and think that would be an error. This works because of some charismatic performances - particularly from the rather engaging Jack Dylan Grazer as the lovestruck "Freddy"; a great big dragon and an at times quite pithy script. Please let's leave well alone now?

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a run-of-the mill superhero sequel that doesn’t progress the genre forward, but delivers two hours of pure entertainment. This film does not do any one thing great, but it was still a pretty decent watch. The plot is average—nothing we have not seen on the big screen before. Our villains have no development; their motivations are sound, but there is nothing further that develops them into something greater. This movie starts off incredibly strong, with a fantastic first act that had me laughing hysterically. The comedy hits more often than not, which was a surprise for me. There is a bridge rescue scene that is electric. The combination of "I Need a Hero" mixed with all of the heroes showcasing their abilities was amazing. I think superhero films have dropped the ball by not showing heroes rescuing everyday people. The stakes have gotten so high outside of the everyday troubles that this art is lost. I really enjoyed that aspect of the film, but unfortunately, after the first act, this story becomes inflated to a point where it is indistinguishable from many other superhero blockbusters. The final act is overly long and bloated with a plethora of CGI monsters for our heroes to defeat. I think the CGI actually looked pretty good, but it just was not an engaging conclusion for me. The stakes were high, but not built up properly for me to be genuinely interested. The action is pretty decent, but I couldn’t care less. The finale did have emotional beats in terms of the family connection, which worked surprisingly well. That is when this franchise works best. When the focus is on family and not on god's attempts to destroy Earth, The performances overall were pretty good. Zachary Levi is fantastic as Shazam; he has mastered the art of playing a child in a man's body. Jack Dylan Grazer is hilarious; his comedic timing is brilliant. Grace Caroline Currey is a queen. Rachel Zegler is a standout, and her chemistry with Grazer is top notch. The rest of the Shazamly do a great job as well. I think Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu are fine as antagonists but were wasted with a lack of screen time and development. Overall, this might not be good, but it is entertaining. That is a lot more than can be said for some of the recently released superhero films (Black Adam and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania). Score: 65% Verdict: Decent