DC Comics has created stupendous movie adaptations. From Batman to Wonder Woman, the movies seem to keep improving. New characters are continuing to rise from the comic book ashes, which excites DC fans. The newest edition to this excitement is the 2023, Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

The first movie of the Shazam duo came out in 2019. The popularity of this movie is represented in its Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%. Surrounding a kid who gets sent to another dimension and turns into a superhero, the movie shows action and adventure. With thrilling plot twists and new characters, the audience got to see a movie like no other. So of course, with the positive response from the release of Shazam, producers got together and gave the fans what they wanted…a sequel.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is based on the original movie which tells the tale of a teenage boy named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who’s put into the foster care system. Throughout his experience, he’s put into a foster house with a family of five other foster kids. Within that house, he met his best friend, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer). Billy is then sent to another dimension, gets powers from a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) by saying the word “Shazam,” and acts as every other superhero does (superhero version portrayed by Zachary Levi), but comedically.

As the first movie ends, the family bonds together, and the house becomes a home, and inevitably his newfound siblings find out about his powers and save the day against the seven deadly sins and a bad guy. They all grow to have powers and break the weapon that gave them their powers in the first place. This sets up the sequel movie which has been made four years later.

The new sequel is heavily based on the original movie, but in this one, all of the siblings share this power Billy began with. However, things change for the siblings. Where they used to be known as the superheroes who saved Philadelphia, they’re now known as the “Philadelphia Fiasco.” From attempting to save people to inevitably hurting them, they become jokes to society. It remains that way until two sisters, the daughters of Atlas, come to their city.

These newcomers put a dent in the family dynamic. For starters, Freddy met a girl, Anne (Rachel Zegler). He spent all his time focused on her and away from the family which drove the motto “all or none” to the ground. Having separate lives made it hard for all of them to be able to save the world, but they did their best even if it wasn’t appreciated. That was until the rise of the daughters of Atlas. The supposed two, Calypso and Hespera, wanted the stick that Billy broke, the one that brought their two worlds together. They were going to use it to save their world, but Calypso had other ideas. Finally, the introduction of the third and final sister, Anthea, shocked many. Anne, better known as Anthea developed real feelings for Freddy, but inevitably was a part of the opposing side.

As the movie progresses, fights break out between the two sides. The separation of different worlds, prisons, and the rise of the unicorns are involved within this dark comedy. Plot twists like switching sides and the death of beloved characters only make the movie a greater hit and emphasize the point of Shazam being not only a superhero movie, but a comedic action movie.

The general integrity of the movie remained similar to its origin, but the introduction of new characters and the family bonding moments make this a movie to remember. Shazam! Fury of the Gods emphasizes how outstanding this franchise has become and exemplifies that when it comes down to it, it truly is “all or none.”