Review: New ‘Shazam!’ has more everything, but less charm

Sequels, by nature, are more. Whatever the original had, just add more, the rule seems to be. Even more words in the title -- how often is a sequel's title shorter than the original?

And so, exactly four years after the original DC superhero pic "Shazam!" surprised with its clever blend of innocence and silliness, and enough wit to blunt the inevitable ridiculousness of plot, we have "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." It brings five times the title wordage, more action, more villains, more monsters and more star wattage -- Oscar winner Helen Mirren, for example.

But not more charm. The sequel, again directed by David F. Sandberg, feels less breezily funny, less fresh, less fleet of foot. (At two hours and 10 minutes, it's actually two minutes shorter than the original, but doesn't feel shorter).

In its favor, though, are some elements that lent the original its pleasures, especially Zachary Levi and his goofy efforts (if perhaps more frenetic) to play a youngster in an adult superhero body, and Jack Dylan Grazer as fast-talking, always-thinking best bud (and foster brother) Freddy -- this time given a love interest in appealing Rachel Zegler. It also smartly drops colorless villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who's apparently still in that lonely cell.

The action, laden with CGI battles, could fatally weigh down the film if it weren't for Levi, who brings the nimbleness of a musical theater performer (ever see him sing while cartwheeling on Broadway? ) and Grazer, a bit older but still irascible, not to mention singleminded ("We can't let her die, she called me sweet!").

"Shazam! Fury of the Gods," a New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America "for sequences of action and violence, and language." Running time: 130 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.