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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Gods Of Egypt (2016) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
God Awful
Those of you who keep up to date with the goings on in the film world may be thinking Gods of Egypt was released way back in February; and you’d be right for thinking that.
The film, directed by Alex Proyas (I, Robot, Knowing) performed so poorly in America at the start of the year that its UK release was scrapped, until now. But is the resulting film as bad as its figures would suggest? Or are we looking at a future cult classic?
Good god no. From shocking dialogue to laughable special effects; Gods of Egypt is a dreadful dirge of a movie with practically no saving graces. It’s just that bad.
The survival of mankind hangs in the balance when Set (Gerard Butler), the merciless god of darkness, usurps Egypt’s throne and plunges the empire into chaos. Hoping to save the world and rescue his true love, a defiant mortal named Bek (Brenton Thwaites) forms an alliance with the powerful god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to stop Set before he destroys everything.
Thankfully, the plot itself isn’t too bad and has a vaguely interesting premise. The problem is how it is executed. Alex Proyas takes our protagonists on a rollercoaster ride of bland set pieces, populated by cardboard enemies and special effects that manage to look expensive and awful at the same time.
Gold, blood red, sparkling granite and deep, rich blacks all combine for a nauseating colour palate, only worsened by the cinematography. No shot is lingered on for any great amount of time – it’s like Alex Proyas was too terrified of allowing his audience to see the mess up close, shifting from frame to frame every few seconds.
Elsewhere, the acting is fairly inconsistent. Gerard Butler yet again channels his character from 300, while newcomer Brenton Thwaites looks po-faced as he spouts complete and utter drivel, a departure from his promising turn in 2013’s The Giver. The painful attempts at comedy fall flat on every single occasion and ensure no cast member leaves with their dignity intact.
2016 has thrown up some pretty bad films. London Has Fallen, Through the Looking Glass and Zoolander 2 spring immediately to mind, but this manages to outdo them by a country mile.
Overall, Gods of Egypt leaves you with more questions than it answers. Why is the Egyptian god of darkness Scottish? Why is it over two hours long? What on earth was Summit Entertainment thinking pouring $140million into this thing?
There is some good news at the end of this rather murky rainbow however. Your question as to whether you should go and see it may well be the only question that can be answered.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/06/18/god-awful-gods-of-egypt-review/
The film, directed by Alex Proyas (I, Robot, Knowing) performed so poorly in America at the start of the year that its UK release was scrapped, until now. But is the resulting film as bad as its figures would suggest? Or are we looking at a future cult classic?
Good god no. From shocking dialogue to laughable special effects; Gods of Egypt is a dreadful dirge of a movie with practically no saving graces. It’s just that bad.
The survival of mankind hangs in the balance when Set (Gerard Butler), the merciless god of darkness, usurps Egypt’s throne and plunges the empire into chaos. Hoping to save the world and rescue his true love, a defiant mortal named Bek (Brenton Thwaites) forms an alliance with the powerful god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to stop Set before he destroys everything.
Thankfully, the plot itself isn’t too bad and has a vaguely interesting premise. The problem is how it is executed. Alex Proyas takes our protagonists on a rollercoaster ride of bland set pieces, populated by cardboard enemies and special effects that manage to look expensive and awful at the same time.
Gold, blood red, sparkling granite and deep, rich blacks all combine for a nauseating colour palate, only worsened by the cinematography. No shot is lingered on for any great amount of time – it’s like Alex Proyas was too terrified of allowing his audience to see the mess up close, shifting from frame to frame every few seconds.
Elsewhere, the acting is fairly inconsistent. Gerard Butler yet again channels his character from 300, while newcomer Brenton Thwaites looks po-faced as he spouts complete and utter drivel, a departure from his promising turn in 2013’s The Giver. The painful attempts at comedy fall flat on every single occasion and ensure no cast member leaves with their dignity intact.
2016 has thrown up some pretty bad films. London Has Fallen, Through the Looking Glass and Zoolander 2 spring immediately to mind, but this manages to outdo them by a country mile.
Overall, Gods of Egypt leaves you with more questions than it answers. Why is the Egyptian god of darkness Scottish? Why is it over two hours long? What on earth was Summit Entertainment thinking pouring $140million into this thing?
There is some good news at the end of this rather murky rainbow however. Your question as to whether you should go and see it may well be the only question that can be answered.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/06/18/god-awful-gods-of-egypt-review/
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Shadow of the Gods in Books
Jun 2, 2021
Superb nordic fantasy
Shadow of the Gods is the first book in a new series from Gwynne, and his first away from the world of the Faithful and the Fallen. It takes place in a viking-esque part of a world whose gods have recently died, and the world is gradually emerging from tribalism and remote settlements into wider government, at great pain to its people.
There are rumours of rare people who are descendants of the gods and under stress (or on command once they are trained) can enhance their physical abilities - strength, speed, fury etc.
We meet three characters:
- Orka, a woman with a mysterious past who just wants a quiet simple life with her husband and son, away from the ambitions of their countrymen
- Elvar, a young bountyhunter woman who, along with her fellow longboatmen are initially hunting one of the alleged gods' descendants
- Varg, a young man who has recently escaped slavery in unpleasant circumstances and wants to find what happened to his sister, seeking a magician to tell him her last moments
The three PoVs give us an excellent view of this world, and we see the beginning conflict from numerous standpoints. Varg, far from being a vehicle to deliver worldbuilding, is an excellently formed character who is trained in combat with spear and shield (and of course, Gwynne's trademark shield wall obsession).
The different PoVs also allow us to see one overall story developing, but building up from numerous subplots and quests.
The action scenes are excellent and plenty, as usual, both single combat trials and larger battle scenes against people and monsters. Where the Faithful and the Fallen had the "sword flicks sand in the eye" trope, which was overused, here we have the axe being used to hook someone's shield and yeet them out of the shield wall. This is less overused, and I believe a genuine effective battle tactic, but one that the reader notices regularly.
The mysteries of the world and the characters inhabiting it are revealed gradually enough to keep even this impatient reader satisfied. I admit to overthinking it and trying to guess how the stories might overlap/weave together and got it all completely wrong. There were times when I did mix up the quests of Varg and his boat crew, and Elvar and her boat crew, as they are very similar, but this is natural when such a large cast of characters is introduced.
An excellent thrilling adventure and one that effortlessly got me out of something of a reading slump (everything has felt like a chore for so long, but this was a delight every time I sat down to read).
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
There are rumours of rare people who are descendants of the gods and under stress (or on command once they are trained) can enhance their physical abilities - strength, speed, fury etc.
We meet three characters:
- Orka, a woman with a mysterious past who just wants a quiet simple life with her husband and son, away from the ambitions of their countrymen
- Elvar, a young bountyhunter woman who, along with her fellow longboatmen are initially hunting one of the alleged gods' descendants
- Varg, a young man who has recently escaped slavery in unpleasant circumstances and wants to find what happened to his sister, seeking a magician to tell him her last moments
The three PoVs give us an excellent view of this world, and we see the beginning conflict from numerous standpoints. Varg, far from being a vehicle to deliver worldbuilding, is an excellently formed character who is trained in combat with spear and shield (and of course, Gwynne's trademark shield wall obsession).
The different PoVs also allow us to see one overall story developing, but building up from numerous subplots and quests.
The action scenes are excellent and plenty, as usual, both single combat trials and larger battle scenes against people and monsters. Where the Faithful and the Fallen had the "sword flicks sand in the eye" trope, which was overused, here we have the axe being used to hook someone's shield and yeet them out of the shield wall. This is less overused, and I believe a genuine effective battle tactic, but one that the reader notices regularly.
The mysteries of the world and the characters inhabiting it are revealed gradually enough to keep even this impatient reader satisfied. I admit to overthinking it and trying to guess how the stories might overlap/weave together and got it all completely wrong. There were times when I did mix up the quests of Varg and his boat crew, and Elvar and her boat crew, as they are very similar, but this is natural when such a large cast of characters is introduced.
An excellent thrilling adventure and one that effortlessly got me out of something of a reading slump (everything has felt like a chore for so long, but this was a delight every time I sat down to read).
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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