Parents' Guide to

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

By Tara McNamara, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Funny superhero sequel has action violence, language.

Movie PG-13 2023 130 minutes
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Movie Poster: Zachary Levi is center frame turned to the side in his red and gold suit while a gold light shines behind him

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Poster art of the cast of Shazam! Fury of the Gods
    1:08
  • Shazam: Fury of the Gods Movie: Zachary Levi has his arm raised and his hand in a chakra, waving at the camera while his cape flows behind

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 16 parent reviews

Jessica W.
Jessica W. Parent of 7-year-old
March 22, 2023
age 18+

Not family friendly. Disturbing “suicide” scene. Unnecessary to movie plot.

I feel like more attention should be brought to the incredibly disturbing scene of a teacher (who in a previous scene helps one of the characters ward off bullies), gets hypnotized into jumping off a building to his (audible) death with one of the villains saying “exploding like a grape”. An unnecessary scene in a movie that’s supposed to be family friendly. This was disturbing to my husband and I as adults and should not be something any adolescent or child sees portrayed AS NO BIG DEAL. Other than one of the characters being upset for 30 seconds, they move on happily to other scenes and end the movie without ever readdressing such an unbelievably terrible death. Why not bring HIM back at the end at least. We have so much violence these days including in schools including highest suicide rates to date and kids being convinced by others to kill themselves. Killing a teacher like it’s no big deal (likely whispering “kill yourself” to him) is not something to sit lightly in a child or adolescent’s subconscious as no big deal (as portrayed in the movie). This ruined the movie for my husband and I. Thankfully we saw it first without our son. I wouldn’t recommend this movie for any age.
Goodforumkvies
Goodforumkvies Parent
March 11, 2023
age 12+

Cool

Shazam! Furry of the Gods is the sequel to the first Shazam! movie. Not surprisingly, the movie does feature intense violence including crashes, explosions, fighting etc. and there are also dragons, wild unicorns (that attack in the beginning), and gods enslave humans by turning them into zombie/Greek mythology themed creatures; there's also quite a bit of brand mentioning such as skittles and Gatorade. On the whole, I loved this movie, it did have one or two jokes that I laughed quite a lot, but it wasn't perfect: for example the acting could've been a bit better as well as the plot because it had no twist. Still, a great movie!
See all 16 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS (the sequel to 2019's Shazam!), Billy Batson (Asher Angel as a teenager, Zachary Levi as an adult superhero) and his superhero foster siblings are fighting crime in Philadelphia -- although the city thinks they're creating chaos and dubs them "the Philly Fiascos." Several of the kids are also managing other, non-super issues: Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), now a young adult, can't afford college and isn't sure what to do with her life. Pedro (Jovan Armand/D.J. Cotrona) is trying to find himself. And Billy is suffering from imposter syndrome. But when the supersiblings hear that the evil Daughters of Atlas (Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler) may be wielding an ultrapowerful weapon, they jump into action and put their teamwork to the test to defend the world.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (16 ):
Kids say (23 ):

This hilarious sequel proves that Shazam is the most exuberantly empowering superhero for kids in the current DC Universe. The magic of superhero comics has always been inspiring readers to see themselves as heroes, something that's often lost in the over-musclebound, sometimes too serious, dark superhero cinematic landscape (especially where DC is concerned). But Shazam! Fury of the Gods creates the perfect canvas for that flight of imagination by helping kids from many walks of life and underrepresented groups see themselves on screen. Plus, by showing the Shazamily kids in their "adult" state, it offers a subtle "it gets better" message for any kids watching who might be unhappy with their current state of being. When the core message is delivered in the dialogue -- "the most powerful thing about you is you" -- it gets a humorous eyeroll from Djimon Hounsou's Wizard (yes, he's somehow still alive even though he turned to dust in the first film). But as the story bears out, it's a phenomenal message for these heroes -- and young viewers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the diverse representations in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Did you see someone who looks like you on the screen? Why is representation important?

  • Do you agree with the movie's message that everyone has the potential to be a hero? What does it mean to be an everyday hero? If you were a superhero, what would your power be? In real life, what is your "superpower"?

  • How do the characters demonstrate courage, compassion, and teamwork? Why are those important character strengths?

  • How did the violence make you feel? Was it more or less intense than other superhero movies you've seen? What's the impact of seeing violence in entertainment?

  • The Daughters of Atlas want to reclaim the power that was stolen from their father. Are they wrong to want that back? Tell this story from their point of view. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, what other monsters and gods are referenced here?

Movie Details

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