Tag: Cooper Andrews

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★1/2

Rated: MSHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS

Directed by: David F. Sandberg

Written by: Henry Gayden, Chris Morgan

Shazam Created by: Bill Parker, C. C. Beck

Produced by: Peter Safran

Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, D. J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Haithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews and Djimon Hounsou.

‘The most powerful thing about you, is you.’

Yes, there’s the expected underlying message that goes with any teen-starring superhero movie.

But there’s a balance in this sequel to Shazam!, released back in 2019 (see review here)

There’s the delightful humour of Zachary Levi returning as the superhero Shazam; his alter ego (or is it the other way around?), Billy Batson (Asher Angel) now turning 18, an older teen to his previous 14-year-old character, still revelling in his superhero’s man-body, his adoptive family, mum (Marta Milans) and dad (Cooper Andrews) blissfully oblivious to their adopted children’s superpowers:

Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) superhero Freddy (Adam Brody)

Eugene (Ian Chen) superhero Eugene (Ross Butler)

Mary and superhero (Grace Caroline Currey)

Pedro (Jovan Armand) superhero Pedro (D. J. Cotrona)

Darla (Faithe Herman) superhero Darla (Meagan Good).

The superhero powers don’t always go to plan though, hence being nicknamed by The Tribune – that no-one reads, it’s fake news! – the, Philly Fiascos.

There’s some genuinely funny moments here, with Shazam seeing a paediatrician, lying on a couch like he’s seeing a psychiatrist to unpack his issues – the doctor recommended by a friend, a youngish friend around Billy’s age because the doctor has dolls in the corner of his office.

Shazam has understandable issues.  He doesn’t think he deserves his powers because he’s been rejected A LOT: his parents, the foster homes.  Then of course The Tribune with front page, ‘Rejected by City.’

The main difference between the sequel to the original is the team aren’t kids anymore, so those jokes about the disparity of a child in a man’s body doesn’t have as much punch.   But seeing Shazam rapidly chewing a mint to seal the deal on his Wonder Woman crush… I found myself laughing out loud at Zachary Levi’s antics as Shazam once again.

Has to be noted that Billy the superhero was less mature than Billy Batson the teen turning 18.  But the idea of the school kids turning into fit superheros still worked and was a lot of fun.

And there’s blue fire-breathing dragons and the Staff of the Gods, the opening of the film above Athens.  Spartan’s appear: Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu).  Gods who have lost their power because of Shazam breaking the Staff in the previous film.

I like a bit of fantasy in a superhero movie.  And director David F. Sandberg has handled the balance of humour, fantasy and drama well.

The young Darla felt, well, a bit young, at times.  To appeal to a younger audience, no doubt.  I could hear the response in the audience to her doe-eyed antics.

Didn’t always hit for me.

But, ‘I’m an idiot,’ Shazam is just as funny as the first film, even as he fights his growing pains while forever wondering, what is my superhero name?

It drags a bit, getting to the growing up moment, but overall, I was Shazam! entertained by this sequel, Sandberg getting the timing of the jokes just right.

 

Shazam!

Rated: MShazam!

Directed by: David F. Sandberg

Screenplay by: Henry Gayden

Story by: Gayden and Darren Lemke

Created by: Bill Parker and C. C. Beck

Produced by: Peter Safran

Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans and Djimon Hounsou.

From the DC Universe, writers Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke adapted Shazam! from the comics, creating a movie about a superhero, yes; but also about the superhero being a kid.

Gayden recalls, “I enjoyed writing it from the perspective of a kid, channelling the logic of a 14-year-old who suddenly has all these powers and who’s not thinking, ‘How can I save the world,’ but, ‘What cool stuff can I do?’”

We get the backstory of Billy Batson (Asher Angel)getting lost and separated from his mother at a Fair (what is it with carnivals, eh?!) and having to grow up in foster care while doing everything he can, whatever it takes, to find his mother.

We also get the backstory of super villain, Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) – never being good enough for his father, always looking to his Magic 8-Ball for answers; where the ‘Outlook, not so good.’

Young Billy meets an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who’s looking for the pure of heart to relieve him of his burden, to take his power; to become the keeper of the Seven Deadly Sins: soulless depravities held captive in stone.

This is where reality meets fantasy.

One minute Billy’s on the subway; the next, he’s in the Rock of Eternity.

By speaking the name of the wizard, he inherits the power of the wizard, Shazam:

Solomon: wisdom

Hercules: strength

Atlantis: endurance

Zeus: power

Achilles: fighting

Mercury: speed.

And what fun Billy has as the adult-sized superhero, Shazam (Zachary Levi).  Until he meets his nemesis, Dr Thaddeus Sivana.

Well known horror director, David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation) has shown his humorous and cheeky side with this film.  He even included the Annabelle doll lying dormant in a pawn shop at the beginning of the film – that’s cheeky.

Sandberg has kept some of that horror flavour here, with the Seven Deadly Sins coming to life as man-eating demons that not only tempt and turn human against human with their evil glowing red eyes, but physically bite their heads off.

The soundtrack adds to the ominous atmosphere, as does the disintegration of flesh into sparks to embers to ash and smoke.

What makes Shazam! so funny is the juxtaposition of this darkness with the total normality of kids being kids.

Along with the antics of Billy and Billy being Shazam, we get a household full of sidekicks: foster parents, Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) and foster kids, Darla (Faithe Herman), Mary (Grace Fulton), Eugene (Ian Chen), Pedro (Jovan Armand), and my favourite, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer).

Freddy knows all the superhero moves and becomes Shazam’s manager, teaching him, or rather testing him, to see what super powers he has.

‘His name is, Thunder Crack!’

And added titbits like, ‘Did you know the Roman’s brushed their teeth with their urine?  It works, apparently.’

Freddy made the film for me.

As did the writing, the scary-at-times fantasy and those perfectly timed lines that lifted the film, that tickled to bursts of laughter; that kept me grinning until the very end.

Den Of Thieves

Rated: MA 15+Den Of Thieves

Directed By: Christian Gudegast

Screenplay By: Christian Gudegast

Story By: Christian Gudegast & Paul Scheuring

Produced By: Mark Canton, p.g.a Tucker Tooley, p.g.a.

Produced By: Gerard Butler Alan Siegel

Starring: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Meadow Williams, Maurice Compte, Brian Van Holt, Evan Jones, Mo McRae, Kaiwi Lyman, Dawn Olivieri, Eric Braede, Jordan Bridges, Lewis Tan, Cooper Andrews, Nate Boyer, John Lewis.

I’m a huge fan of Heat (1995) – a crime thriller that graces my ‘Best of the Thrillers’ list and I’ll go there and state one of the best crime thrillers ever made.

In the same vein of Heat, Den of Thieves shows an armed robbery with machine guns and ski masks: these guys are ex-military and they handle their hard-wear like they’re still on the field of battle.

Led by special forces-trained and recently paroled, Ray Merriman (Pablo Schreiber), meet the Outlaws.

But when a robbery goes wrong and cops are killed, the Major Crimes Unit gets involved.  These guys are like a gang with tats included.  Add a badge and you’ve got the Regulators.

As the leader, ‘Big’ Nick O’Brien (Gerard Butler) says, they literally take no prisoners.

So, you get the tone of the film from the start with a familiar storyline where two crews face-off in a male-dominated pissing competition to see who can be the grande of men.

And I was dubious about rapper, Curtis James Jackson III, AKA 50 Cent, playing a major role as Enson Levoux; part of the Outlaws crew.  But hats off – 50 Cent can act as one big, scary robber/family man.

Talking of big scary dudes, it was cool to see some Pacific Islanders as part of the Outlaws crew; the effort made to authentically show Los Angeles’ southern-most neighbourhoods and one of many differences between Den of Thieves and its crime thriller predecessors.

The macho element pushed to its limit aside, there’s a point in the film where the script makes light of this brute male force with 50 Cent as Enson Levoux scaring the be-Jesus out of his daughter’s prom date by ushering him into a room full of his crew to confirm that yes, he’ll take care of his daughter, and yes, he promises to get her home by 11.30pm.

And the humanisation of these scary guys breaks the tension and leads to a more complicated and layered film with a high stakes play made by the Outlaws to rob the Federal Reserve Bank; a feat never successfully achieved and all the while under the surveillance of the Regulators leading to each crew trying to out-smart the other: showing brain more than brawn wins the game.

There’s clever building of tension with screenwriter and first-time director Christian Gudegast creating a film made of rapid gun fire and bullet casings spilling across the hood of cars, the soundtrack heaving with each impeding battle.

One notable scene with Big Nick and Ray Merriman shooting at a firing range – no words needed, just a show of skill and the double tap as ‘silver back’ Merriman shows his special ops training with a perfect configuration of shots through the target’s heart.

But a few holes in the story let down the believability.

Big Nick asks the question himself in the film, why did the Regulators go so bad?

And would police, even American, L.A. Major Crime Unit cops, open machine gun fire in a traffic jam?

And a few other bits (don’t want to give away too much of the story) that dent the cleverness of this multi-layered plot.

Overall, I was impressed with this film.  Even if Gerard Butler (and yes, I’m going to say it, Al Pacino did the same in Heat) overplays his role, just that little bit.

Yes, there’s echoes of Heat here, but there’s also a nod to other classics such as, The Usual Suspects.

Although a missed opportunity to make a unique classic itself, Den of Thieves evolves from a pissing contest into a layered absorbing entertainer ending with a knock of my knuckle-duster on the cinema cup holder in salute.

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