The Lambcast this year is trying to limit the number of podcasts featuring a new film to no more than two a month. That will sometimes mean that a film that excites the community may not appear on the schedule. That could be easily adjusted if anyone wants to contact the show and tell us what it is you really want to talk about. It also means that sometimes you will have to hear what the host wants to talk about, and that seemed to be the case this week. The highly regarded Shazam! from 2019, finally gets a follow up, and with all the upheaval in the DCEU, it may be shunted aside, but not on this episode.
Comic book fan Jeanette Ward and Zach Levi fan Amanda Kirkham join the podcast this week to compare the new entry to the old and to share some thoughts about whether this really is a family friendly film. There are a few dark moments interspersed through the comic book action and humor, and that might give pause to some adults who were thinking of taking their kids to see this, or maybe not.
Everyone on the show seemed to enjoy the consistent humor, even if the humorous tone of the film was not always consistent. When the Unicorns show up and the Shazamily rides to the rescue, you will both laugh out loud and wonder, how much did this product placement cost? Shazam!/Billy is not on his own remember, he has a team of heroes that back him up as if they are family, because, well they are.
As usual with a superhero movie, the success of the film is dependent on the villain, and we get two dependable villains in the form of Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren. How can you resist a movie that references the “Fast and Furious” films in which the principle villain here plays a part in. You can say you “meta” character that is the daughter of a god and the mother of Jason Statham.
Black Adam does not appear in the film, but there are some interesting hints at other characters in the DC Universe. Rachel Zegler from the “West Side Story” remake is a welcome love interest and complication in the story, and everybody was glad to see that Djimon Hounsou was no longer just a pile of dust. We talk about Wooden Dragons, Terrifying Unicorns, and Zena Warrior Princess as the show unspools.
Our exit question of the week involves your dreams about what you would like to see on the big screen. Listen to what the guests said and then think about your own answers, let’s hope for some surprises.
Introduction
Shazam! Lookback 2:45
Fury of the Gods Discussion 11:50
Mild Spoilers 25:00
Bigger Spoilers 36:26
Exit Question 53:43
The show can be found, of course, via iTunes – just do a search for “LAMBcast.” Also, I always post a link to the show on the LAMBcast’s Facebook page, and there’s a player there if you’d like to listen online. Find the show here:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2023-03-21T10_56_11-07_00
If you’d ever like to catch up on back episodes, go there. If you’re interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster – we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod’s Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. Closing song by Cake. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too – if you’d like yours read on a future show, leave it in the comments section at the LAMB. Please visit and like our Facebook page, and finally, we’re on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it’s a bad one. Thanks for listening!