In a world full of white-washed films about ethnic minorities, Gods of Egypt comes across as just another blockbuster that has no identity. However, after I watched this film, I realized that it’s not just another identity-less, failed blockbuster, but rather it’s one of the worst films that I’ve personally ever laid my eyes on.
Not only are the Egyptian characters played by white actors, but the film has literally nothing good going for it.
How to Download Gods of Egypt
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like fantasy films with an Egyptian theme, check out The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, or The Scorpion King.
The Movie Review
Bek, a mortal man, sets out on a mission to save the world and rescue his true love. To succeed, he must seek the aid of the god Horus, who joins forces with Bek to defeat Set, the ruthless god of darkness.
Set seized control of Egypt, causing turmoil and strife throughout the once peaceful and thriving empire. Bek and Horus’s epic battle against Set and his minions take them from the mortal world to the afterlife and beyond. This action-adventure tale is based on the mythology of ancient Egypt.
Now, I realize that the way I’ve described the story above sounds quite exciting. However, that’s just how it is with Hollywood films these days, the concepts are large and ambitious, and they seem like they deserve the hype but then they eventually falter.
Gods of Egypt suffers from the same problem, a film with big heavy budgeted trailers that make it look like the next big mega-franchise, and yet the film barely has enough substance to last its own runtime.
This film has no connection to the culture or history of Egypt, despite using a few god names from the country. The clothing and behavior depicted in the film do not accurately reflect the traditions of ancient Egypt.
The story is filled with unrealistic and unbelievable scenes that seem more focused on distracting the viewer than on providing meaningful entertainment.
The film does not follow the tradition of a son becoming Pharaoh only after the death of his father, and it does not accurately depict the behavior or culture of the ancient Egyptian people.
The Characters
It is inappropriate and historically inaccurate to cast Caucasian actors as Egyptian gods and the main character in a film or television show set in ancient Egypt.
This decision can be jarring and disrupt the viewer’s ability to fully engage with the story. While the acting performances of some of the actors may have been strong, the casting of non-Egyptian actors in these roles is problematic and should be avoided in the future.
Instead, actors of Egyptian descent should be cast in these roles to accurately represent the culture and history being depicted. Thankfully though, we do have some decent actors in the film that save it from total disaster.
Bek, a blond human thief, and Zaya, a regular girl, both have their actors giving mediocre performances in their roles and could have easily been played by many other young actors.
The Visuals
The movie relies heavily on digital effects and scenery, which is evident in the massive 140,000-dollar budget used for production. However, the sets often appear shockingly lame and unnatural, giving the impression that the movie was produced in a studio rather than on location.
At times, the visuals feel great due to the massive amounts of money used on them, but most of the time the film just feels weird to look at due to its overreliance on CGI. There’s something extremely fake about this film.
The Music
A problem I encountered while watching the film was the sound mixing – the music was occasionally too loud and overpowered the dialogue. Despite this issue, Marco Beltrami’s score was well-done and included a few light-hearted motifs that were added to the scenes.
The soundtrack was more emotional than most blockbuster scores and complemented the decent special effects, which supported the story of love, jealousy, immortal battles, teamwork, and the conflict between good and hatred.
Verdict
As I sat down to watch this film, I knew exactly what to expect – not a historically accurate depiction of ancient Egypt, but a flashy display of CGI fireworks. While ancient Egypt is rich with captivating stories to be told, this movie chose to focus on a series of underwhelming action scenes instead.
The plot was weak, the acting was subpar, and even the usual saving grace of these types of movies – the CGI – was only mediocre at best. A forgettable film that failed to deliver on any level.
