Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: March 17, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
35
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
85
SlashfilmJeff EwingMar 15, 2023
Inconsistencies and issues aside, Shazam 2 hits the comic book movie sweet spot. The performances are strong, the humor lands, and the stakes feel high with comic book panache and the kinds of visuals one only gets in a comic book (business-destroying minotaurs, anyone?). Read full review
83
Original-CinJohn KirkMar 15, 2023
It’s an entertaining fantasy from a kid’s perspective that hearkens back to the days of reading a stack of comics on your bed for an afternoon that never seemed to end. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 15, 2023
“Fury” piles on the mythos, monsters and magic, a smidge too heavily at times, but stays grounded, thanks to its earnestly goofy main man. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneChris VognarMar 17, 2023
Fury of the Gods makes for dandy spectacle, its digitally rendered catastrophe the match of any such competing big-screen visions of doom. But it somehow marries the pending apocalypse to a blithe spirit, and the cognitive dissonance never gets drastic enough to ruin the good time. Read full review
70
IGNTom JorgensenMar 15, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods may not pull the heartstrings like its predecessor, but there’s no shortage of the chaotic good humor and energetic performances that put Billy Batson and the Shazamily on the map. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandMar 15, 2023
It’s charming — and it’s different, and it’s worth saving. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsMar 17, 2023
It’s schtickier and less assured than the first “Shazam!” but these leftovers still reheat well enough. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckMar 15, 2023
The sequel, again directed by David F. Sandberg, feels less breezily funny, less fresh, less fleet of foot. Read full review
63
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMar 15, 2023
When Shazam! Fury of the Gods tries to look like a big blockbuster action movie it comes across as perfunctory and soulless. The fury signifies nothing. The heart is where this movie’s home is. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 19, 2023
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. Read full review
60
Time OutOlly RichardsMar 16, 2023
Sure, the final act is the sort of monster battle we’ve seen countless times, but Shazam! Fury of the Gods never loses the energy and easy laughs that makes this second-tier hero far more fun than a lot of his more famous colleagues. Read full review
60
UproxxMike RyanMar 15, 2023
It’s not as good as the first Shazam movie, which explored what it’s like to be a superhero when, in reality, you’re still just a kid. In this sequel, that aspect is still mentioned quite a bit, but not really explored. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 15, 2023
The origin story was the charm, but the sequel is hobbled by a less buoyant hero and bland villains. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMar 15, 2023
Like some children who aren’t so cute anymore after they’ve grown up a little, this follow-up lacks much of the appeal of its predecessor. While the film provides the elaborate action set pieces, colorful villains and save-the-world plot mechanics expected of the comic book movie genre, some of the magic is missing. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 15, 2023
This new Shazam film is cordial, with a puppyish good nature and an awareness of its own silliness. Read full review
60
EmpireSophie ButcherMar 15, 2023
Bigger, weirder, and just about funnier than the first, the second Shazam! remains entertaining despite some tiresome plotting. And who doesn’t want to see Helen Mirren as an all-powerful Greek goddess? Read full review
60
Screen RantRachel LaBonteMar 15, 2023
Those willing to go along with Billy's patchy journey just might find themselves entertained by what this DC sequel has to offer. Read full review
59
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 16, 2023
The experience of watching this new Shazam! is akin to watching an exceptionally wealthy but ultimately sweet and innocent child smash their toys together for 130 minutes. There’s little point in it all, but hey, at least the kid is happy. Read full review
58
UproxxVince ManciniMar 22, 2023
The sequel is like watching a good friend come back from a study abroad with an affected accent that you can’t talk them out of. Read full review
58
The PlaylistSimon ThompsonMar 16, 2023
Every franchise has its blips, but the magic has fizzled here. Lightning hasn’t struck twice, and it’s a real shame. Read full review
50
Film ThreatAlan NgMay 16, 2024
Great villains and silly heroes make a move that ultimately falls flat. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 20, 2023
Taken as a whole, the second Shazam! is an overlong mess with an awful ending that feels like it was assembled as a result of reading focus group responses. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellMar 17, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a substantial step down from its predecessor, hardly ideal when the future of the entire franchise likely depends on it. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 17, 2023
As we pick up Billy/Shazam’s story about four years later, it quickly becomes apparent this is just going to be a by-the-numbers, second-tier adventure with only a few small chuckles and one or two genuinely touching moments. The rest is just noise. Read full review
50
ABC NewsPeter TraversMar 17, 2023
The tossed-off charm of the original suffers from bloated sequelitis. Still, star Zachary Levi’s comic-book invitation to shake your sillies out will be hard to resist for underserved family audiences. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithMar 16, 2023
Directed by David F. Sandberg from a script by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, “Fury of the Gods” makes no pretense of being anything but a comic free-for-all. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonMar 16, 2023
Sandberg started his career in small horror films, and doesn’t seem to have much ambition to scale up. Most of the sequences are cut from medium shots strung together without much style — they may as well be a "Saturday Night Live” sketch. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMatthew JacksonMar 16, 2023
We’re used to these movies being designed to launch us into one big final fight, and that’s fine, but the craftsmanship this time is shoddy, packed with dead ends, and struggling to maintain its grasp on an emotional throughline. Read full review
50
Washington PostThomas FloydMar 16, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods dutifully doubles down on everything that made the first film both charming and instantly disposable. But the heart and meta-humor that were so refreshing the first time feel static and stale in returning director David F. Sandberg’s more-of-the-same sequel. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryMar 16, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods provides a lightning-bolt-shaped exclamation point on the realization this comedic superhero franchise was, in fact, a one-trick pony – fine for a playful origin story, without enough voltage for an encore. Everything that worked in the original works less well in this so-so sequel, blunting even the star power emitted by its high-profile villains. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonMar 15, 2023
Comic-book fans have seen much of this film before, but Levi at least tries to make it soar. Read full review
45
The Daily BeastNick SchagerMar 15, 2023
Messy and mirthless, it resounds as the death knell for this interconnected cinematic enterprise’s current iteration. Read full review
42
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonMar 16, 2023
Fury of the Gods tries to recapture what made the first Shazam! a disarming breath of fresh air, but it just can’t quite do it. Read full review
42
ColliderRoss BonaimeMar 15, 2023
There is potential within the Shazam! films that have never quite been met. Especially with this latest installment, this often feels like DC’s attempt at having a Spider-Man-esque character in their roster, and if you squint, you can almost see that possibility. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleMar 21, 2023
The original Shazam! may not have broken new ground as a superhero movie, but it did what the rest of the recent Warner Bros. superhero films seemed unwilling to do: Restore compassion to the realm of heroes. Shazam! Fury of the Gods loses the thing that made it special. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 17, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods isn’t unwatchable. It’s competent, uninspired swill, undone largely by the fact that it’s following up a superior first movie. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 17, 2023
The kind of kids who hide behind the couch during Scooby-Doo may well feel emboldened by the fuzzy feelings, silly quips and toothless villains. But it all feels rather pointless for the non-meek community. Read full review
40
Paste MagazineJacob OllerMar 16, 2023
Is it a tragedy of genre saturation, both movie-haltingly flashy and deeply unimpressive. Everything is constantly moving and you don’t feel a thing. Read full review
40
ScreenCrushMatt SingerMar 15, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is just sort of there, coasting on the residual good vibes and talented cast of its much-superior predecessor. Read full review
40
NMEPaul BradshawMar 15, 2023
Fury Of The Gods gets a big, silly ending which is occasionally fun, but there’s a cheap and clumsy feel to everything – a superhero sequel made in the same vague shape as a dozen others. Read full review
40
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsMar 15, 2023
Much like the candy whose corporate slogan features as one of the most prominent aspects of the script, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a film with close-to-zero nutritional value. Read full review
40
Total FilmJames MottramMar 15, 2023
With the story lacking real jeopardy, the feeling this leaves isn’t quite fury, but it’s certainly apathy. Read full review
40
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 15, 2023
Fury of the Gods lands in the frustrating middle: a film that isn’t without promise, but feels far too messy and corporatised to have any real affection for. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 15, 2023
In terms of representation, you couldn’t ask for more. And that’s just as well, because in terms of entertainment, you could barely get less. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJake ColeMar 16, 2023
The film fails to build on the whimsical foundation of the first film in any way. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 16, 2023
They may have wrung everything out of “Shazam” in just one movie. And this is just that movie’s inferior sequel. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMar 15, 2023
It may be a shoddily made Skittles ad masquerading as a superhero riff, but it’s Levi’s performance that sends it into the stratosphere of cringe. Read full review
25
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMar 16, 2023
With scenes of epic destruction uncorked with numbing frequency, the picture drags. It’s two hours and 10 minutes long and you feel every last second. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 16, 2023
The formula is tired, and it’s particularly sad to see Shazam! surrender so completely and pathetically to it, when it might have been DC Comics most human superhero franchise. Read full review
0
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 17, 2023
With sub-par material, Levi pretending to be a kid and naively shouting and pouting has turned grating. Read full review
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