“Shazam! Rage of the Gods”: We saw the new DC Comics film, and here’s what we thought of it

While it does not achieve the expected success at the North American box office, what is “Shazam! The rage of the gods”, the new blockbuster from DC Comics which comes out this Wednesday in French dark rooms?

After “Black Adam”, the DC Comics team, now led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, unveils this Wednesday March 29 at the cinema, the sequel to “Shazam!”, which is struggling to convince across the Atlantic with only 30 million dollars revenue, against more than 53 million for the first part, released four years ago. But what is this film so decried by American critics worth?

If it does not revolutionize the genre, and remains a family entertainment aimed especially at teenagers, “Shazam! The rage of the gods” by David F. Sandberg – still at the helm – offers some rather funny scenes that make you smile, if not laugh out loud. We find Billy Batson, this young simpleton capable of transforming himself into an adult superhero, by pronouncing the word “Shazam”. But not having the pectorals of Aquaman, nor the cool attitude of Batman, the vigilante, again embodied by actor Zachary Levi, suffers from an inferiority complex. Anxieties which he shares from the start of the adventure to his shrink, who seems somewhat disarmed in the face of the situation.

If he therefore struggles to assume his suit and considers himself “a real impostor”, this immature superhero will still have to assume his responsibilities when it comes to saving the world. A world threatened by Hespera, Kalypso and Anthea, three ancient goddesses and daughters of the Atlas who wish by all means to recover the magic of which they were deprived, and in particular the staff of the last of the wizards. Thanks to a close-knit adoptive family – the “Shazamille”, the central theme of the film – and in particular to his parents (Rosa and Victor Vasquez) who totally get into the game, Billy and his band of friends, all nicknamed the “Foireux de Phillie “, will face viscous creatures as repulsive as zombies, and a formidable dragon which could compete with the “little ones” of Daenerys in “Game of Thrones”.

Humor and the second degree in the “Shazamille”

As in “Shazam!”, none of the characters take themselves seriously. Faced with Asher Angel / Zachary Levi (Billy Batson / Shazam), we find with pleasure Jack Dylan Grazer in the skin of Freddy Freeman, and his alter ego played by Adam Brody. In a postapocalyptic setting where the special effects and connections are not always perfect, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as guardians of the tree of life and antagonists created from scratch for this feature film, impose themselves against this team of youth. And Rachel Zegler, whom the public discovered in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and who plays the youngest of the trio who came to sow chaos, brings a little sweetness to this world of brutes. But it simpers a lot in the land of unicorns. Damage.

It remains to be seen whether the next DCEU films expected this year, which are “The Flash” (June 14), “Blue Beetle” (August 16) and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (December 20), will succeed in restoring the DC Comics crest to viewers.