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In 2006, director Zack Snyder’s 300 was a film that changed the way Hollywood shot their features. It had backgrounds, foreground and most sets rendered on a computer to a degree that it looked real. This technique spawned a number of similar films up to a decade later; it has become the norm and not the exception. The latest to drive down this road is GODS OF EGYPT.
The story is set during the heyday of the Egyptian empire, but with a fantasy bend. It is a land that is peppered with super large gods who walk among the men. The old god king is about to crown his son Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as his heir. The young god is vain and privileged, reeking of condescension while he has a beautiful goddess woman by his side. Just as Horus is about to take command, his uncle Set (Gerard Butler) and an army show up. It seems that Set has a giant chip on his shoulder about not being crowned king and takes it out on the gods by killing the king and plucking the eyes from Horus. Set then demands worship from the Egyptians who are in the palace. Every person in this world of Egypt is Hollywood-imaged beautiful.
Two of the people in attendance are Bek (Brenton Thwaites) and Zaya (Courtney Eaton). He is a thief who wants to give her everything. After the ascension of Set, he decides to do what he can to bring back Horus. First, Bek must get into the lower parts of the temple of gold and retrieve the plucked eyes. In a scene that is a cross between something out of HARRY POTTER and INDIANA JONES, the young man retrieves one of them.
When Bek brings back the eye to Horus, the god does not seem pleased but wants to know where the other eye is located. Only both eyes will give him full power. It is a bit like trying to run a toy with only one AA battery. The rest of Gods of Egypt is the search for the other eye that takes place on the earth, above the earth and below the ground. They go through the heavens and the land of the dead until it gets to a major CGI battle between the forces of good and evil. But the ending conflict felt more like a cool rerun of Ultra Man.
They say that it is always more fun for an actor to play the bad guy, and Gerard Butler proves that adage with the role of Set. Time and time again, he chews up just about every part of the scenery with this role, roaring his lines over a sea of golden blood and reddish fire. Everyone around him must have been covered with enunciation spittle. This is a role that is the flip side of 300 and BEOWULF & GRENDEL. But with all the CGI special effects, it still feels like it is a part of those better films. With a patch over his eye for most of the film, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau passes more than a little resemblance to Snake Pliskin from ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, he just doesn’t have the coolness of that character. This guy has to learn that vanity is not the way to rule a kingdom and it is a lesson that is hard to get into his dense head. He is part charming but still an oaf.
Brenton Thwaites is Bek and he does justice in a role that feels like an outtake from THE NEVER ENDING STORY. There is just too much of the ‘golly-gee’ atmosphere to make the performance fit with the grander scope of the rest of the film. It is almost as if he were plucked from another movie and placed into this work. The true outstanding performance in the secondary cast is Courtney Eaton as Zaya. She is the love of Bek’s life and no one ever wonders why the young man goes to such great lengths for his betrothed. Simply put, she is a beauty among beauties. With such a large cast of attractive people, Courtney has her work cut out for her, but she does shine above the glistening.
While there are some amazing set pieces, time and time again it feels like a blatant copy of better works. Director Alex Proyas takes just about every movie he has ever loved and throws it against the cinematic wall just to see what will stick. All those sticky bits he put on the screen, but there is not much vision in the work. It is all just for fun. Alex has taken the script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and turned it into a fanboy fantasy that may have also been a nightmare. This is a ‘check your brain at the door’ kind of film, a cinematic work that cannot be taken seriously. It is silly and over-the-top while still stunning with flash but not stunning with substance. GODS OF EGYPT does not live up to the hype, but may entertain those who are not expecting much.
