There is a theatre term – you might know it – called ‘deus ex machina’. It means ‘god from the machine’. It originally referred to the climactic technique in ancient Greek theatre when a god would descend from the heavens to resolve the storyline. It is believed the actor playing the role would be lowered down to the stage by use of a wooden crane, hence the ‘machina’ part. Nowadays the use of the term is narrative-based, referring to stories where the story resolves because of a sudden and abrupt intervention by an outside force rather than because of the actions and achievements of the protagonist. The navy turns up at the end of Lord of the Flies. Oliver Twist discovers an unexpected inheritance. For an audience it can be pretty unsatisfying stuff.

There is a question connected to all of this, and I should warn this spoils the conclusion of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods (2023). If a superhero movie ends with a deus ex machina, but it is literally the descent of a god to resolve the narrative in a film heavily based on ancient Greek mythology, is that a stupid conclusion or an insanely smart and self-aware one? I really don’t know – and that, in a nutshell, is my critical response to Fury of the Gods. I really don’t know.

I really enjoyed the original Shazam!, which seemed to be an upbeat, fun antidote to the grim aesthetic of recent DC Comics movies. For one thing, it just seemed a refreshing all-ages approach to the genre. For another, it effectively captured the more bright and cheerful tone of DC Comics in general, and specifically the Captain Marvel character on which it was based. This sequel, which has been a few years coming (I blame COVID), never quite manages to meet those expectations. It is more violent for one thing, and less inclined to focus on the fun of being a child with superpowers. It also abandons all foreshadowing from the first film to push into a different direction. Thankfully a lot of the previous strengths are back by the climax – there’s a scene involving unicorns that is a delight – but it is quite a rough path to get there.

New villains – the daughters of Atlas – are played by Rachel Zegler (earnest and appealing), Helen Mirren (earnest but out of place), and Lucy Liu (who looks incredibly bored). Almost the entire original cast of heroes are back, although obviously they have aged a bunch. Star Zachary Levi doesn’t seem to quite spark with the same enthusiasm as he did the first time around. To be honest nobody does. Jack Dylan Grazer’s role as best friend Freddy Freeman is significantly expanded, which feels odd for a movie ostensibly based around Billy Batson (Asher Angel, who’s hardly in this), but that only emphasises the problem of an able-bodied actor playing a disabled character.

The film is generally enjoyable, and certainly stands up better than other recent DC Comics adaptations, but there is an unavoidable sense of contractual obligation to it. Director David F. Sandberg doesn’t seem to bring the same enthusiasm the second time around. A lot of time is spent hinting at how well Shazam would interact with the broader DCEU franchise. It’s true: he probably would. Going by the disastrous box office, however, and the resetting of much of DC from 2025, we’re never going to see it happen.