Shazam! Fury of the Gods review – corny but fun teen superhero sequel

The sequel to the likable 2019 kid superhero adventure Shazam! rejoins the six Philadelphia foster children gifted with an array of magical powers, but argues that the real super-strength is family. And, yes, it’s a corny and unoriginal message, but the film acknowledges this with a sly nod to The Fast and the Furious franchise. Rejected by his mother and father, Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel as a kid and Zachary Levi in his super-incarnation) clings a little too tightly to his foster family. It’s causing friction with his best friend, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer/Adam Brody). But adolescent social angst turns out to be the least of their problems when they learn that Billy has inadvertently unleashed a trio of vengeful gods, the daughters of Atlas, into the human realm.

Billy’s inane babbling gets a little wearing, but the action sequences, featuring dragon-based mayhem, cyclopes and an army of formidable hell unicorns hopped up on candy, are pacy and fun.