Shazam! Fury Of The Gods' Rachel Zegler Slams "Senselessly Mean" Criticism Of Movie: "Our Film Is Actually Very Good"

Rachel Zegler has hit out at "senselessly mean" criticism about her new movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

The 21-year-old West Side Story actress, who portrays Anthea in DC Extended Universe (DCEU) sequel, insisted the film is "actually very good", and she believes some of the disapproval is because it has become "cool to hate on fun nowadays".

She tweeted:: "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 per cent audience score for a reason.

"some people out there and just being... senselessly mean. 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. (sic)"

The David F Sandberg-helmed follow-up to the 2019 movie received mixed reviews from critics, scoring a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, a steep drop from the original 90% average.

Just as underwhelming is its US$30.5 million (S$40.8 mil) opening weekend in North America when it was expected to make US$35 million-US$40 million. Internationally, the movie, said to cost between US$100 mil and US$125 million, underperformed too: it grossed just US$35 million from 78 markets; it flopped in China where it made just US$4.4 million. 

Last week, Zegler told The Hollywood Reporter at the Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiere that the movie came at a time when she desperately needed a job. 

“The reality is we’re in the middle of a pandemic and I was not working and I couldn’t get a job for the life of me, because West Side Story hadn’t come out yet,” she shared. “It was really hard to book work for me, so I was really excited when this came in my inbox.

"I love the first movie, and the fact that they even wanted me to come in for a callback, and then a chem read and then everything in between. I'm so lucky that I got this job."

Zegler's upcoming slate includes The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now in cinemas. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos

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