The Egypt of GODS OF EGYPT isn’t nestled upon the continent of Africa upon our globular Earth… rather EGYPT is a world shaped like an incredible disc – on the side lit by Ra is the realm of the living Gods – Beings 15 ft tall with liquid gold running through their veins and their organs are fabled jewels of power giving them powers and visions. Upon the other side of this Disc world called Egypt is the land of the dead where there’s a series of gateways the dead must pass before being judged to live forever in the afterlife or not. This is a place beyond the time and space that we know. This is pure fantasy.
I love films that play with the fantasy realms of Ancient Mythologies. Be they Arabian, Egyptian, Norse, Grecian, Roman, Chinese, Indian, Jewish or Christian. I’ve seen these tales told by Hollywood and by the rest of the world – and to me… what I love… is to see how various cultures handle other cultures heritages or that allow themselves to be inspired by those legends and create something new. Emmerich & Devlin mined Egyptian Mythology for STARGATE, which I personally loved. But what Alex Proyas has done, as a Greek-Egyptian human being born in Egypt – set out to tell a tale inspired by Egyptian Mythology… and make no mistake – this is a wild robust sci-fi fantasy that reminds me of THIEF OF BAGDAD, THOR, STARGATE and Proyas’ own DARK CITY.
There’s not a performance in this thing I didn’t fully enjoy.
The film begins with Brenton Thwaites’ Bek, a street rat right after Aladdin’s heart. He was not born rich, yet he refuses to not lavish his true love Zaya with whatever his sticky fingers can liberate from the world for her. In case of the opening, it’s a dress. Courtney Eaton’s Zaya looks incredibly lovely in it, I assure you. Bek’s character places no faith in the Gods, as he sees very little evidence that they’ve done squat for him. However, Zaya, believes. When they attend, what was intended to be a coronation where the King of Egypt, OSIRIS, is passing his crown down to his son, HORUS – the God of Air. All manners of Gods from the Pantheon pay tribute, along with enormous crowds of mortals that worship the Gods. Before the coronation can be completed… Gerard Butler’s boisterous and power craving Set comes in to disrupt the proceedings.
Suffice to say, Jamie Lannister doesn’t get the crown, keeps both hands, but loses both eyes, which transform into magically powerful glowing blue jewels. Butler’s Set is a real bastard of a villain here. Like Jafar, his thirst for power is all-encompassing. His only driving thought. He spare’s HORUS’ pathetic blinded life, but sets upon changing the rules of existence. Under his rule, to gain entrance into the afterlife will become solely dependent upon the amount of wealth you bring with you to the afterlife. Giving the wealthy dominion over the lower classes desperate to obtain money to earn their afterlife paradise. Kinda sucks – and the lovers we met at the beginning, Bek and Zaya – hardly have time for each other, but Zaya holds out hope that HORUS will regain his status and restore their world to a more just society. So she puts Bek up to stealing back Horus’ eyes – and she knows how to because she’s working for Urshu (Proyas regular Rufus Sewell), the master builder working for SET – and has access to his library.
The crazy intricate trap that’s set for all those that would attempt to claim the Eye of Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) – this sequence strikes me as a combination of the Grail Tests from INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE, but mixed with the greater glory of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940). Although it also seems infused with the more cartoonish and blissfully fun ALADDIN energy. At this point, if you’re not sitting back with a smile, I question the intent you had to watch the film.
Cuz from this point forward, we’re gifted one of the most fun, thrilling and magical adventures we’ve seen in fantasy for awhile. When Sewell’s Urshu shoots Eaton’s Zaya in the back as she and Bek are fleeing with the jewel, we are in the process of setting up an epic romantic adventure hero with Bek. A mortal that risked all to give sight back to the rightful ruling God of Egypt, if only he would save his beloved.
This is when the casting of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau makes sense to me. There is an aspect of the Jamie Lannister character in his Horus. A spoiled pampered God with Gold for his Veins… always entitled… Humbled and disfigured for his lack of vision for what is the true purpose – his real destiny. Nikolaj’s HORUS has much to learn. He’s upon a Hero’s quest – that will take him away from the Discworld of Egypt and into the star flung realm of his Grandfather, the God of Gods, RA – the Sun God that battles with a supreme demon of darkness that would plunge all of Egypt into eternal darkness.
Just the journey to RA… it’s thrilling and filled with whimsy. Seeing the world of the Egyptian Gods is much like the feeling I had when I first saw Asgard, but completely different. Or that moment when you realized what reality was in DARK CITY. But that was nothing, compared to seeing Geoffrey Rush power up to be the enormous – fully powered version of RA… In fact, I often wished that Proyas was doing THOR: RAGNAROK – because he has incredible vision for displaying a magical realm.
The true purpose for Horus visiting his Grandfather was to acquire some of the water of creation to quench the Fire of the Desert, which is the source of Set’s powers. At least that’s the plan. Things don’t always go as planned. But this is all just the set up for an adventure that will take the audience to the Land of the Dead, where BRUCE SPENCE will weigh your worth versus a feather! Btw, Spence looked in even worse shape than he did in RETURN OF THE KING.
I’ve heard some griping about the visual effects, but for me – this is a film about MAGICAL BEINGS… GODS… In the same way that I can suspend disbelief when seeing a Norse God flying all over the place with a Magical Hammer… Poseidon stopping the Clashing Cliffs from destroying Jason’s ship, the Argo… or the Finger of Flame carving the TEN COMMANDMENTS for DeMille… I have zero problems believing in the golden power armor of the Gods here. It isn’t supposed to be REAL, it is FANTASY. It stuns me when viewers decide to say, FUCK THE HOBBIT cuz Legolas runs up falling stones – In a Fantasy… I don’t care what is IMPOSSIBLE in my world, I love to discover the wonders of their worlds. To see the impossible, that’s why I go to the movies.
Again, as a film lover and as a critic, it disturbs me to have a film like this condemned before anyone even watched it. Crazier still is that while folks are screaming “WHITEWASH” all over, they seem to ignore the fact that GODS OF EGYPT is actually directed by a director that has an Egyptian origin. A director that loves fantasy and who brought his childhood dreams of Egyptian Gods in what could be a far flung future or a billion years ago.
What has happened to film viewers that dismiss something that was conceived and executed to be a breathless adventure filled with visions you’ve not seen before. Like when Butler’s Set rips the brain out of Chadwick Boseman’s THOTH – God of Knowledge – and it becomes a glimmering jewel… Or Set’s final super powered God Armor vs Horus – as the entire realm falls into peril around them.
So much more pleasing to my eyes than destroying New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles for the umpteenth time. This is an adventure to capture youthful minds and those that can still look at a silver screen and be transported.
Too often, we allow the greater problems of Hollywood to overshadow a film that is right before us. For a film of this immense size and wonder, there are many decisions that are made for a myriad of reasons. I have long dreamt of a Sinbad movie where Sinbad was played by an actor of the proper descent, but it has never stopped me from loving Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Kerwin Matthews, John Phillip Law or Patrick Wayne.
If anything – the lesson that Hollywood should take from GODS OF EGYPT is to embrace the cultural diversity films like these provide, the FANTASY should have been better explained in the media beforehand. To share that this is a film obviously not set upon Earth… last I saw from images from outer space of our planet… it was a sphere, not a disc. With a million or so telescopes of all sizes looking out into the blackness of space, we do not see giant Space Worm Monsters attempting to swallow the light of the universe.
I tried my hardest to get GODS OF EGYPT for BUTT-NUMB-A-THON, because I knew how hard this film was going to have given the political beating it was receiving as the trailers were released. They were finishing the final sound mix and couldn’t quite get a print to us. In the end, I took my Dad to see this film at an IMAX to watch in 3D. The theater was empty save for 3 others. Didn’t effect Dad and I though. We came to let Alex Proyas take us away to a realm we’ve never been before – and we received that and so much more. Dare to think for yourself and take in GODS OF EGYPT… it’s pretty amazing if you’ve the soul to relish it.
P.S. - One of the great powers of this film comes from Marco Beltrami's stunning score which brings all of this to mythological life in a way that reminds me of David Arnold's STARGATE score at times. Also when Set takes Nepthys wings - and they transform as they hit the ground... Loved it so much!
