Wondering if Shazam! Fury of the Gods is ok for kids? The sequel to Shazam! lacks continuity and story, but there’s still enough charm, heart, and electricity to make it worth a trip to the movies. Here’s what parents need to know in this Parents Guide to Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Is Shazam! 2 Fury of the Gods Kid Friendly?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel to Shazam! which continues the story of teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel). Billy and his superhero alter ego (Zachary Levi) is feeling imposter syndrome after being given powers from a wizard (Djimon Hounsou). After sharing these powers with his family, they seem to be pulling away and wanting to not be so involved with being superheroes.
The family has one rule “all or none,” but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. However, the Daughters of Atlas – Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler) – are coming back to get their powers back from the champions that seemingly stole them. And they want payback.
Age Rating: Why is Shazam! Fury of the Gods Rated PG-13?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is rated PG-13 for sequences of action, language, and violence which means some content is not suitable for kids under 13.
Language in Shazam 2
There is some profanity in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but luckily it didn’t go too overboard. There are some uses of sh*t, hell, a couple of uses of a**, a**hole, dick, and balls. In the end credit scenes there were a couple uses of g-ddamn. There is also a random use of an unfinished motherfu*ker.
Violence: Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods Too Scary for Kids?
While the violence level is still pretty high, the first Shazam! had more of a darker tone to it. In Shazam! 2, there are monsters, a somewhat menacing dragon, and characters in peril that may be too intense for younger kids. The most disturbing scene for me was when a character walks off a building to their death.
There are scenes of destruction with buildings exploding, bridges collapsing, close-ups of fear in people’s faces, use of weapons and magic, and growling, scary creatures. However, honestly the monsters weren’t all that scary, at least for kids old enough to understand those creatures aren’t real.
Mature Content: Is Shazam 2 OK for Kids?
There is some mature content like characters kissing and another character coming out as gay. There are some sexual references, but they are kept to a minimum. There is no nudity in Shazam! 2.
There is mention of vaping. One scene shows characters bullying another.
An emotional scene of death could be too much for little ones.
Mature themes include adoption, family, abandonment, loyalty, and bullying.
Parents Guide: Is Shazam 2 Appropriate for Kids Under 13?
In Shazam! Fury of the Gods you can expect some dark scenes, scary creatures, fighting, violence, and some profanity used by characters. To sum it up, Shazam! 2 is kid friendly for ages 12 and up. Younger kids could also be ok with the content if they are not sensitive to superhero violence and/or death.
The good: Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman was the star of the show. His charm and humor are way more subtle than that of Zachary Levi.
The bad: The jokes tried to hit, but a lot of times were a swing and a miss. Also one of my biggest issues with Shazam! is that Billy’s superhero personality does not match his kid persona. Zachary Levi is super extra, and I don’t mind extra, but at times it just didn’t make sense.
The CGI seemed a mess, the tone was a mess, and even the villains were a hot mess, which is a shame, because Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu deserve better. They’re bad; they’re forgiving. Nope they’re bad again, wait are they good? Do the sisters even know each other?
Overall, it seems as if Shazam! Fury of the Gods has all the ingredients for an outstanding superhero film, but the length of the film was too long to support the content.
There were too many things going on that didn’t connect. I gave Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania a bit of a pass, because it was trying to set up a future film. I’m still wondering where Shazam! fits in. With James Gunn coming in, is there even a future for Shazam!?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not all bad. I mentioned Grazer, even Levi’s annoying yet lovable goofiness. There’s also a lot of heart that squeezes out more goodness and endears the audience to Billy and his family. Family. That’s where they get you. I’ll be darned if I wasn’t crying into a napkin by the end of it.
Bigger isn’t always better, and it’s the unaggressive moments where I really enjoyed the movie.
Shazam! 2 is more kid friendly than the original and worth a watch in the theater if you connected with these heroes in Shazam!.
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