{"id":39844,"date":"2023-05-23T09:19:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T13:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=39844"},"modified":"2023-05-25T13:41:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T17:41:17","slug":"shazam-fury-of-the-gods-2023-blu-ray-dvd-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/23\/shazam-fury-of-the-gods-2023-blu-ray-dvd-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) [Blu-Ray\/DVD\/Digital]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of the things about \u201cFury of the Gods\u201d that made me laugh is that people gave \u201cMan of Steel<\/a>\u201d so much crap for its blatant product placement. And yet, with \u201cFury of the Gods\u201d there is literally an entire plot point centered on the candy Skittles. At one point one of the characters even proclaims \u201cTaste the rainbow!\u201d as they ride unicorns in to battle with the film\u2019s villainesses. It\u2019s really not a hindrance on the movie as a whole, but I was kind of laughing to myself at those that made such an issue about big product placements playing key roles in major films.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Billy Batson and his super powered alter ego Shazam are back and things are getting complicated. Especially now that Billy is about to turn eighteen and is faced with aging out of the foster care program he\u2019s grown to love. He\u2019s joined by his heroic foster siblings as they work to protect the city of Philadelphia from threats, but teamwork is starting to fade as plans for their futures are made. Billy\u2019s anxiety is heightened by the arrival of Hespera and Kalypso, daughters of Atlas eager to retrieve the Staff of the Gods which will give them the power to control humanity.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if maybe I was coming off of \u201cBlack Adam\u201d or maybe my good faith in the \u201cShazam!\u201d brand was too high after the surprisingly good first film. In either case, while many seemed to have agreed \u201cFury of the Gods\u201d is a stinker, I say thee nay! I think it\u2019s only a slightly smelly sequel. It\u2019s not as awful as \u201cBlack Adam\u201d was, but it\u2019s certainly nowhere near being the best comic book movie of the last year. Hell, I dare say that the tacked on, awkward cameo in the epilogue is much better than the one in \u201cBlack Adam.\u201d Yes, I say that even as a hardcore Superman geek. I\u2019ll argue that issue until I\u2019m blue in the face. Whether you blame Dwayne Johnson for the failure of \u201cShazam!\u201d or blame \u201cShazam!\u201d for the failure of \u201cBlack Adam,\u201d it\u2019s moot, now. Neither film is incense and peppermints.<\/p>\n

\u201cFury of the Gods\u201d is just better by the fact that it\u2019s at least entertaining, even when it stumbles. The big misstep is that featuring more of Billy Batson coming of age, \u201cFury of the Gods\u201d leans way too much in to territory aimed at 8-10 year olds. The comedy is heightened, the villains are much less sinister, and there aren\u2019t any real stakes in any portion of the narrative. It\u2019s become popular speculation that this is the last outing for David Sandberg\u2019s iteration of \u201cShazam!\u201d and his family. I\u2019m just disappointed they had to go out on this flat note, rather than really bring the house down with a massive battle, and Billy Batson learning how to be a competent superhero once and for all.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Included in the Blu-Ray<\/strong>, there\u2019s a feature length audio commentary with director David F. Sandberg that covers a lot of the production including set design, casting new characters vs. familiar reunions, Peacemaker, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, deleted scenes, background Easter eggs and cameos, and more. Fans will like the easy going commentary. Shazam! Let’s Make a Sequel is a twenty five minutes behind-the-scenes featurette with a very good overview of the production, with a semi-serious but lighthearted tone. Participants include star Zachary Levi, producer Peter Safran, director David F. Sandberg, actor Asher Angel, writer Henry Gayden, actors Jack Dylan Grazer, Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, and many others.<\/p>\n

The Rock of Eternity: Decked Out is short five minutes piece about converting the first movie’s set into a lair for the heroes; features some behind-the-scenes footage and brief comments from key cast and crew members. The Zac Effect is four minutes of star Zachary Levi goofing around and fellow cast members singing his praises. Sisterhood of Villains is an eight minutes talk with producer Peter Safran and several others, including the three female villains, and their contributions to the world of Shazam! The ten minutes Shazam! Scene Deconstruction is a combined featurette, hosted by director Sandberg, that details five key scenes from the film including “Ben Franklin Bridge”, “School Rooftop”, and “Philly Cheesesteak Scene”, etc.<\/p>\n

Mythology of Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a small five minutes segment with the director, explaining the reasons for using Greek mythological figures rather than established characters from the comic. The five minutes Shazamily Reunion includes David Sandberg and the foster family members (parents included) talking about the excitement of getting back together as well as a welcoming a few new friends to the fold. Finally there is thirty minutes of Deleted Scenes with healthy assortment of deleted, alternate, and extended scenes including those that dropped detours to unnecessary character beats, many of which are referenced by David Sandberg (who offers a quick introduction) during his audio commentary.<\/p>\n

This two-disc set includes a Digital Copy redemption code, with the extras included on the Blu-Ray only.<\/p>\n