Shazam! Fury of the Gods received glowing initial reactions, and the first wave of reviews were mostly positive. However, as more verdicts were added to Rotten Tomatoes, its score continued to dip, and the DC Comics sequel now sits at a "rotten" 52% on the aggregator.
Many feel that this was a bit of a harsh reception for a fun, family-friendly superhero flick, and star Rachel Zegler (Anthea) would seem to agree.
The West Side Story standout took to Twitter to share some new behind-the-scenes photos from her time working on the movie, and decided to address the negative reviews in the process.
"Hey our film is actually really good! But mostly i just absolutely loved making it and the people I met whilst doing so :) go see it! Give it a chance. We have an 85% audience score for a reason.
"Some people out there and just being… senselessly mean," she continued. "And it’s unnecessary. And I know, I know, 'if you can’t handle the heat…' and all that nonsense, and you’re right. But our film is actually very good. It’s just cool to hate on fun nowadays. That’s okay. We’re good."
While it's true that audiences do seem to be more receptive to Fury of the Gods than critics, that hasn't really been reflected at the box office. Opening weekend takings were even lower than the already disappointing projections, and unless positive word-of-mouth can turn things around, the movie is going to have a long road ahead.
Have you been to see Fury of the Gods? If so, do you agree with Zegler's assessment? You can check out our review here.