As an ancient goddess, Anthea (Rachel Zegler) has more than her fair share of mystical gifts. Her main power appears to be the ability to warp physical reality at will. The film uses some pretty stunning visuals reminiscent of the mirror dimension sequences conjured up by Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Anthea’s powers are fun to watch, but they’re undermined by the lack of explanation of how they work, as it’s never quite clear whether she’s physically altering reality or if she’s employing some kind of mental misdirection or something else entirely. For example, when Shazam confronts her in her true form for the first time, she shuffles many skyscrapers around to slow him down. Again, it looks cool, but did she actually rearrange downtown Philadelphia or rewrite reality or create illusions to throw him off? I’m not asking for any scientific exposition on how a deity’s powers work. I just want a little consistency, that’s all.
