Shazam! was a great hit when it first hit cinemas, and everyone loved how the child-like nature of the main character was brought to life by Zachary Levi. They had never seen a character brought to life in a goofy way in the DC universe, which is usually dark and gritty. Unfortunately, “lightning failed to strike twice” because of his trademark goofiness and how he portrayed the character in the sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was less endearing than it was irritating, and most fans think that Zachary Levi could be the reason why the movie failed.
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Shazam! Cinema Success
Most people enjoyed the first Film, which shows in the scores that it got on different sites. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave the first film a 90% score, while audiences gave it an 82% score. It also has a 7/10 score on IMDb, which could be better but is not the worst. Many people loved the first film because it was just enough. Just enough goofiness, just enough grit. Many people thought it was perfectly balanced. That definitely wasn’t the case with the sequel.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a highly anticipated sequel after the original’s success, and unfortunately, it failed to impress. Its Rotten Tomatoes score from critics fell from the last significant number all the way down to 51%. Audiences still liked it, giving it an 87%, but this vote is pretty subjective. Its IMDb score also fell a little, but only by 0.4.
Perusing the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes to find out why the film might have failed to impress critics was a challenging feat. However, it seemed like they found a lot they didn’t like about the film, including calling it “one of the worst comic-book adaptations to hit theatres in a good long while,” according to David Nusair at Reel Film Reviews.
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Why Shazam! Failed
The two most significant issues that reviewers had with the film go hand in hand. The main one is that because it was a sequel to a successful movie, it had to top first. Unfortunately for the film, it didn’t top it but instead went over the top.
Ruben Peralta Rugaud at Cocalecas said in his review, “unfortunately, it falls into the trap of exaggerating what worked in the original, going overboard in almost every aspect of the narrative and losing authenticity along the way.”
Another reviewer agreed that because everything had to be bigger and better, the film negated the charm that it had in the first place.
Many reviewers feel Zachary Levi’s portrayal of the main character, Shazam, is the main problem. While he pulled off being a younger protagonist with his goofiness in the first movie, in the second, the protagonist is a teen and shouldn’t still be as goofy and childish as Zachary Levi portrayed him.
Roger Moore at Movie Nation put it perfectly, saying that the film “stumbles down the narrow line between ‘kid-friendly’ and ‘just plain juvenile.'” While viewers found it endearing in the first film, it became irritating by the second. Many people feel this is why the second film failed and what might prevent the franchise from having another sequel.
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TL;DR
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods saw only half of the success that its predecessor, Shazam! did.
- Reviewers felt the movie was too over the top in its attempt to be better than the first.
- More reviewers feel that Zachary Levi’s goofiness and how he portrayed the main character is why the film is seen as childish and might be why the movie failed.
Do you think Zachary Levi caused Shazam! Fury of the Gods to fail?
Zachary Levi Is The Real Reason Why Shazam Failed Written by Megan Oosthuizen for Fortress of Solitude
