Prisoners of the Sun

I'm potty about Egypt movies so I couldn't resist this one especially if they have a little bit of monsters and a little bit of SF, which this seems to have both and how can you resist a movie with both Joss Ackland and John Rhys-Davies? But it's a free movie on Prime and as expected the plot is a bit weak, and aside from the two big name actors, well, while the others do a competent job certainly the writing for the dialogue is very weak; but hey it's free and you got a fast forward button so skip some of the corny dialogue and pseudo intrigue and it's not a bad free movie to watch. I suppose one more area to consider is real archaeology; here also the movie is a joke because among other things, a how many thousands of year old stone slab with cartouches blocks their entrance, and they're smashing it with a hammer? Obviously they have the Heinrich Schliemann Playbook, smash first ask questions later. Hey buddy maybe I could take a photo of that first you know and like publish it or something? Nah just smash it! Who cares what it says! Don't show it to your archaeology students but it's a lot of fun. Hey don't miss the hornets who happen to live in a dark totally sealed tomb and they've been there for how long? What's their food source? Wait while I whip out my handy-dandy flamethrower! It might work better with a mystery 3000 overlay audio.

I'm a fan of this genre; it's one of those "guilty pleasures" we all have. This one, however, was one I definitely should have skipped.

The movie drags up every possible trope and cliche of other similar films: sneaky bad guy, learned professor with his almost-as-learned assistant (sidekick), and a couple of others who were eminently forgettable. Then there are the ancient curses, resurrected mummies (or are they???), and a sandstorm. John Rhys-Davies is the only actor of note in it, as well as the only one who can act. I have no idea why an actor of his repute would do this film. Was he bored and had nothing else to do? Did he just want an easy paycheck? Even he had to resort to over-acting in some scenes just to give it some energy.

Short version? Don't bother. M.

I remember a time, when I used to love movies like this. Low budget, weird characters, easy to follow, clear cut characters, who'd be either good or bad. It does feel like a throwback, but not in a good sense. Of course there have been worse movies and considering the budget this movie (probably) used, this is pretty decent.

Still it would be too much to say, you have to watch this. Even as a party movie it doesn't really work. You have Mr. Davies in it though, who while still acts as if this is something important. Producers got their money worth there. Judging the other actors on this movie alone would be a bit unfair though. Sometimes you have to start small ...

Decided to watch this on a bored Saturday thinking maybe it'll be a bit like The Mummy, how wrong I was. The editing was amateur, the characters were just unappealing & the acting was either over the top or absent. The use of cheap CGI didn't do it any credit & the "Mummy", well I've been more scared by my cats jumping on my bed while I'm sleeping.

The only appealing thing that got my attention was the "historical" storyline involving Egypt & Osiris which should really have been expanded on & possibly used to great effect. I've given the film 2 out of 10 because of this, but I would advise you to avoid watching as you really won't be missing anything.

In Egypt, Prof. Hayden Masterton (John Rhys-Davies) organizes an expedition to a pyramid to witness an event that takes place only once every 5000 years. But he needs to buy a key from a local dealer that will awaken aliens from outer space that are hidden inside the pyramid. However the treasure hunter Peter Levitz (Michael Higgs) kills the dealer with Masterton's walking stick and steals the key; then he blackmails Masterton to participate in the expedition. When the team breaks in the pyramid, they find deadly traps and only a few will survive and Masterton uses the blood of his own daughter to activate a system to awaken the aliens. Will Earth be doomed to an apocalypse?

"Prisoners of the Sun" is a movie of action, adventure and horror with a lame and messy unoriginal story. It is funny to see Prof. Hayden Masterton preparing an expedition where a key is necessary but he will only buy it in the last minute. The plot and unpleasant characters are near ridiculous but the acting is reasonable despite the histrionic John Rhys-Davies performing the lead role. The special effects are decent but the disappointing conclusion is awful and this film deserves the IMDb User Rating. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "O Despertar dos Deuses" ("The Awakening of the Gods")