Unlike most DCEU films, Shazam! Fury of the Gods ended up becoming a box office flop and the movie quickly made its way to VOD release just a couple of weeks after its release in theaters as a result. It also doesn't help that the critical reception has been mixed compared to the first one's positive reactions.
There's a lot to pinpoint regarding the film's disappointing results with some reviews highlighting the ongoing issue regarding the inconsistency between the personalities of Zachary Levi's Shazam and Asher Angel's Billy Batson. While we don't know whether that factored into the overall results, it has become a point of contention amongst critics and fans.
However, to perhaps the surprise of many, the director of the film himself David F. Sanberg agreed with the sentiments as he left a half-star review of the film on his Letterboxd where he also criticized the inconsistency between the personalities of Shazam and Billy Batson.
"Billy and Shazam have different personalities. I really wish someone would point this out to the director. Unwatchable!," he wrote.
Obviously, Sandberg was just joking in his review and poking fun at the criticisms that his film has been getting. It also continues his tradition from the past films that he directed where also left half-star reviews with them and pointed out some criticisms as well.
In the first Shazam! film, the director pointed out a logic issue regarding Shazam's heroic bus scene which is ironic and hilarious since he is the director behind the sequence that he was poking fun at.
"How could he catch a bus by the windshield?! Worst movie ever!! The average bus weighs between 25,000 and 40,000 pounds (11 to 18 metric tons). Not only would his hands go straight through any windshield (or any metal parts of the bus for that matter) but stopping that much mass in such an abrupt manner would turn the bus into an accordion and the passengers would be mush," the director wrote on his Letterboxd review.
"And why did we hear a loud bang when he caught it if he caught the glass? Wouldn't there just be a glass cracking sound? Why was there a shockwave in the snow on the ground if the bus never actually reached the ground?"
Sandberg concluded, "I know he couldn't fly at that point but why didn't he just superspeed up to the bridge and grab the bus from behind to gently pull it back up? Garbage."
It is great to see directors cool off and poke fun at themselves once in a while and it is clear here that Sanberg was just having fun with what he's doing in his Letterboxd account. Hopefully, this tradition will also continue on whatever film he'll do next.
Also Read: Zachary Levi Claims Shazam 2 is 'Objectively' Better Than the First Movie
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be available to stream on Max this coming May 23.
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