Shazam! Fury of the Gods

image for Shazam! Fury of the Gods

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Not suitable under 10; parental guidance to 12 (violence, scary scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Shazam! Fury of the Gods
  • a review of Shazam! Fury of the Gods completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 20 March 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 10 Not suitable due to violence and scary scenes.
Children aged 10–12 Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes.
Children aged 13 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Supernatural themes and violence
Length: 131 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster family are still fighting crime and saving humanity from disaster with their superhero powers. Billy transforms into ‘Shazam’ (Zachary Levi) by saying the word, “SHAZAM!”, as do the others. However, there is a new threat to the people of Philadelphia and the world, when the daughters of Atlas: Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Anthea (Rachel Zegler), decide they want to reclaim planet Earth as their domain.

Hespera and Kalypso march into the Acropolis museum, dressed as ancient warriors, and remove the broken staff of Atlas from its case, much to the dismay of everyone around. The women use their powers to disarm the guards and cause chaos. They then force a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to mend the staff, which now gives them the power they need to take over the world. The superheroes have a tough battle ahead, taking on the gods of the ancient world, and much disaster occurs before they manage to defeat their enemy.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Fantasy; Supernatural; Greek mythology; Superheroes.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is a lot of stylised, action violence but no blood and gore in this movie, including:

  • Many battle scenes between the gods and the superheroes, using supernatural powers to fight and characters getting thrown into buildings, crashing to the ground, etc.
  • Many explosions and buildings collapse.
  • A suspension bridge starts to collapse, the metal ropes snap and the road disintegrates; many people in their cars fall into the water.
  • Hespera and Kalypso arrive at the museum and smash the case that contains the staff. The security guards try to prevent the women but they are sent flying, crashing into a wall, by the pair. Chaos results with people running everywhere. The statues in the room all crumble and the people are turned to stone.
  • Hespera forces a wizard, who is imprisoned, to mend the staff. She slams him against the rails with her powers; he starts to shake and says the magic word before falling to the ground.
  • Freddy is teased at school by two particularly nasty bullies. They punch him in the stomach and break his crutch. Another time, they throw a ball at his head, knocking him over.
  • Kalypso whispers into peoples’ ears whose faces then start to crack. She does this to Freddy’s teacher, who then walks off the roof of a tall building.
  • Hespera threatens to snap Freddy’s neck.
  • Kalypso whispers in Freddy’s ear – his face starts to crack and he screams in pain. She then pushes Freddy’s head to the ground.
  • Hespera says she need to find the most effective way to slit someone’s throat.
  • Kalypso ties up two of the girls with electric cables. They are seen hanging from the ceiling. She smashes Shazam repeatedly against a wall.
  • A dragon crashes into a bedroom and breaks through a roof, smashing the house. The dragon chases after the heroes, up into the air, and sends Mary crashing to the ground but Shazam saves her just in time.
  • Kalypso plants a golden apple into the ground which rapidly grows into a magic tree. The tree roots spread out all over the city, causing buildings to collapse; cars to overturn; and fires to spontaneously start. Chaos is everywhere.
  • Several monsters emerge from the tree roots, which then go on a rampage attacking people.
  • Hespera is speared by the tip of the dragon’s tail – it goes right through her chest and she appears to die.
  • The dragon breathes fire on Shazam, causing his costume to set alight.
  • Kalypso orders the dragon to kill Anthea. The dragon chases after Anthea and Freddy and is just about to eat them when Shazam arrives.
  • The final battle is between Shazam and the dragon. Everything seems to disintegrate, all of the monsters, the tree and its roots.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Hespera’s guards are large creatures in brass armour.
  • The dragon is large and fierce with lights for its eyes. Its whole body glows with light and it breathes white fire.
  • The monsters that erupt from the tree roots are all scary creatures: roaring lions with wings; ogres; fire breathing creatures; etc.
  • A lot of loud, dramatic music.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Hespera and Kalypso both have strong powers that send everything and everyone flying. They send their powers out through their hands.
  • Hespera is a villainous character with evil intent. When she whispers in peoples’ ears the reaction is quite scary. One woman convulses in pain.
  • Shazam tells a therapist how he was abducted as a child by a wizard. He mentions being threatened to have his eyeballs ripped out.
  • A crash occurs on a large bridge and a bus is seen on its side. Traffic is brought to a halt and there is pandemonium.
  • One of the superheroes crashes through a door into the lair (their meeting place), covered in a slimy liquid.
  • Hespera encloses Philadelphia in a dome – Billy is trapped inside.
  • Freddy and the Wizard are locked in a prison when they see two white lights. They then see a white mouth and the dragon appears – the scene is quite scary.
  • The girls are tied up in cables and seem to be passing out.
  • Darla (one of the children) goes in search of unicorns to fight the monsters. She finds one in a stall and it slowly approaches her. It has lights for eyes and stamps its feet. It is uncertain whether it is friendly or fierce but Darla wins it over with some Skittles.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

  • The bridge collapse is quite intense, with motorists seen trying to prevent their cars going into the river. A woman is seen crying before her car goes over the edge.
  • The children are all fostered by a loving Mum and Dad but they are afraid that they’re going to get kicked out due to financial pressures.
  • Shazam has a date with Wonder Woman and is about to kiss her when she transforms into the Wizard.
  • The monsters erupt out of sacs which emerge from the tree roots like animals being born.
  • One of the superheroes dies at the end of the movie. There’s a funeral held, with the others crying. It turns out that the superhero isn’t dead and rises from the grave.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Skittles.
  • Mention of TikTok and Uber.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Shazam has a crush on Wonder Woman.
  • A mild flirtation between Anthea and Freddy – they kiss.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Mary is seen with dark glasses and suffering from a ‘good night out’.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Screw it
  • Oh My God
  • Doesn’t have the balls
  • What the hell
  • Arse
  • Arsehole
  • Shit
  • Dick.

In a nutshell

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a sequel to the original Shazam! DC movie. The film is fast-moving and action-packed, with some good messages about inclusivity and that there’s a hero in everyone despite seeming disabilities. It is also funny and light-hearted, however, it is full of comic-style violence and scariness and is therefore unsuitable for young children. It is better suited for families with older children and teens.

The main messages from this movie are that ‘everyone can be worthy if given a chance’; and that ‘the most powerful thing about you is you’.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Teamwork
  • Importance of family – in this case a foster family.
  • Overcoming difficulties to achieve what you want.
  • Believing in yourself.
  • Selflessness
  • Courage and bravery.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • A couple of times in the movie it is said that ‘violence is not the answer’ but this is not actually addressed, as violence is used as the best defence. What other ways could the champions have defended the planet against the gods?