Zachary Levi, front, stars in scene from the movie “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. (OSV News photo/Warner Bros.)

By OSV News

Grown-ups in search of action, special effects and some humorous dialogue will be satisfied with this sequel to the 2019 origin story of the titular DC Comics character. Yet, though diverting, returning director David F. Sandberg’s extension of his story is overburdened with lore and less than memorable.

After the three daughters of the titan Atlas (Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren) get hold of a mystical artifact, only the lad (Asher Angel) to whom a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) gave the ability to turn himself into an adult (Zachary Levi) endowed with incredible strength and speed in the first chapter can thwart their plan for global destruction. He’s aided on this mission by the ensemble of fellow foster kids with whom he later shared his superpowers (most prominently Jack Dylan Grazer who becomes Adam Brody).

While Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan’s script promotes family bonds and showcases a sweetly innocent teen romance, it also throws the term gods around in a way that might be confusing for the poorly catechized and matter-of-factly reveals that one of the protagonist’s adoptive brothers (Jovan Armand/D.J. Cotrona) is gay.

Much stylized but sometimes harsh violence, brief references to homosexuality and venereal disease, a few mild oaths, a couple of crude terms, occasional crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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