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Gods of Egypt

  • Film
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Time Out says

Set among the warring gods and men of Ancient Egypt, this cheesy catastrophe totally sphinx

Ancient Egypt! Where gods and goddesses deign to live among humans, and squabble over who should be in charge. Just as Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Lord of the Skies, is about to inherit the crown, Set (Gerard Butler) – whose godly portfolio includes stirring up deserts, making darkness and generally creating unpleasantness – ruins everything with a well-timed coup. Mere mortals Zaya and Bek (Courtney Eaton and Brenton Thwaites, looking like escapees from a Justin Bieber/Selena Gomez biopic) are enslaved, and a new reign of evil begins.

The filmmakers have already issued apologies for the predominately Caucasian casting choices, a swifter mea culpa than the one Ridley Scott offered for 'Exodus: Gods and Kings', which cited budgetary concerns as the reason behind his colour-blind picks. Still, it seems as though a decent chunk of the 'Gods of Egypt' budget went toward Butler’s skin bronzer – money that would have been better spent on the cheap-looking special effects, which appear to be culled from 'Ghostbusters II'. Is Ra (Geoffrey Rush) channeling Vigo the Carpathian?

This swords-and-sandals escapade could easily have been milked for laughs, but its handful of jokes, delivered deadpan, fall flat. Even a campy Chadwick Boseman performance comes off as heavy-handed and unwelcome. As the film totters to its predictable finale, the closing moments set up a sequel, a prospect far more terrifying than anything we've just seen.

Written by
Anna King

Release Details

  • Release date:Friday 17 June 2016
  • Duration:127 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Alex Proyas
  • Screenwriter:Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless
  • Cast:
    • Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
    • Gerard Butler
    • Rufus Sewell
    • Brenton Thwaites
    • Chadwick Boseman
    • Courtney Eaton
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