गॉड्स ऑफ इजिप्ट

I enjoyed this film. I read what all the critics said and they all seemed to hate it. I knew then that I'd probably like it...and I did! First you think it's going to be Aladdin-like because of the market scene. It has those moments but it's a love story as well as an action movie. The scenery is beautiful and I enjoyed it as well as the affairs, the true love, the backstabbing...literally. What I really liked, for me personally, was all the hunky heroes! There were some really good actors that are also very attractive. This is also true of the women in the film, the women were very attractive. If you like good looking actors, tense moments, some diabolical scheming, cool scenery although CGI, historical settings and a hero who saves the day, you'll enjoy this movie!

Before I watched this movie, I heard about the negative reviews about it. I read that the CGI was awful and that acting was terrible.

I must say people are too quick to criticize. This movie has a unique style and that is what made a lot of people to judge very quickly.

This movie is not a realistic or historical representation of Egypt and it never tries to be. It is more of a picture of how gods would look like and with a taste of magic and dream. The fact that gods are portrayed twice the size of humans should be the first sign of this style.

The color palette chosen for the movie is beautiful focusing on yellow of gold and brown of sand. This coupled with the vibrant and warm colors of the environments and set pieces create a delightful picture to watch.

The story is interesting to follow as it unfolds right from the beginning of the movie with a clash between two brothers. As it is common in these kind of stories, the bad and the good characters are easy to see from the beginning.

The CGI is mostly good and not as bad as it is called out by some people. The creatures are nicely created and the effects are mostly good with the exception of fire/explosion effects. There were times they felt a bit cheap considering the big budget of 140 million dollars of the movie.

I really like the humorous conversations between Bek (Brenton Thwaites) and Horus(Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau), the god of sky. Brenton's character really added a much appreciated tone of fun to the movie and made me feel that familiar sense of feeling of similar movies like Prince of Persia(2010). Actually this movie has some resemblance even to the video game of Prince of Persia for example with the design of creature/guardians. Anyway Brenton Thwaites really puts a good performance and I am curious to see what he will be able to do in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Gerard Butler fulfills his familiar role of war leader very well as expected, of course he is no stranger to these roles.

Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau does a great job portraying his character Horus as well. Although it would be nicer to see a bit more of his character's background.

Overall this movie offers a fun, humorous, entertaining story in a fantasy world filled with magical powers of gods and hatred and love. This movie is bold, vibrant and fast, it's a shame some people couldn't see beyond the distinct choice of style, which I personally found interesting.

Alex Proyas' "Gods of Egypt" is a film that is boldly and unabashedly silly and preposterous. Few other words can describe it. It has the pratfalls that beset typical Hollywood fare. It is already the subject of controversy due to its preeminently Caucasian cast. It has both critics and audiences sharpening their knives, a film supposedly destined for failure.

Oh, but it works because the film truly bonkers. Truly insane. Truly out of its mind.

Proyas, a gifted and visionary filmmaker, is renowned for having thought-provoking and striking imagery in all of his films, and this film is without exception. Where in any other film do you get to see goddesses horse-riding giant fire-breathing serpents? Or wagons carrying infinite amounts of gold dumping their load in a funnel-like tube ala dump trucks? Or for that matter, gods bleeding gold? Or Gerard butler riding gold- chromed giant beetles into battle? Or gods that have body parts that, when disfigured, instantly become detachable jewelry? Or...

Admittedlly the plot is indeed silly even by blockbuster Hollywood standards, however a lesser Proyas film is still more visually inventive than the usual Hollywood movie factory output, and that is always a plus. Whereas a film like "Pan" bludgeons us over the head with its disgusting cynicism and disrespect for the source material by portraying its titular hero as a clichéd messiah figure, Proyas directs with the exuberance of a kid in Disneyland - with Disneyland replaced with an Egyptian museum exhibit – eager at the chance to create his own action packed tale while still respecting the gods as, well, gods.

What is there to say about the plot, except that it has gods and it has Egypt? You get exactly what's on the tin. You get a chiseled hero in the form of Horus (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau), his athletic and quippy comic sidekick (Brenton Thwaites) and beautiful love (Courtney Eaton), who set out to defeat Horus' evil uncle Set (Gerard Butler, simultaneously parodying his "300" persona while being supremely sinister).

The whole thing sounds very Greek. But rather than eschewing the silly tone and making it "Gladiator"-style dark and dreary ala the recent "Clash of the Titans" movies, Proyas and the actors let loose and have a ball with the material, never being too self aware while being silly enough to make for compelling viewing. Even rising star Chadwick Boseman (terrific in both "42" and "Get on Up"), as Thoth the god of knowledge, relishes in chewing the scenery with every moment, never afraid of being campy. Not bad.

Look, it's clear that the film is a B-grade Saturday night matinée film straight from the 1950s. Ever heard your grandparents told you about those? The ones where there's usually a double feature showcasing silly low budget sci-fi/horror/fantasy plots with handsome men and gorgeous gals, supremely cheesy one liners and having no purpose other than to put a goofy smile on your face from start to finish, almost guaranteeing a good time out? Well, this is one such movie, but with a blockbuster budget and the added pleasure of having Proyas wrapping the fun around with his wonderful thought-provoking visuals and production design, and going wild with this thing. Two set pieces involving a gigantic worm-like demon and the Egyptian afterlife are visual marvels, triumphs of set design and visual effects, evoking senses of awe and wonder like films from yesteryear and other gifted visionaries. For mainstream filmmakers, CGI is the cheat sheet. For Proyas, it's his toy box. This is eye candy on a spectacular scale, and audiences won't get short-changed.

Bear with me here, but if you were to replace the cast with genuine Egyptian actors, I think the film would be mired in even bigger controversies because it will definitely look more inaccurate and seemingly insulting than it supposedly already is. It's stupid, yes, but it's gloriously stupid and never succumbs to taking itself ever so seriously. Proyas sort of knew what he was doing here, and he didn't give a damn about what others thought. And that's the kind of filmmaker I admire the most.

Already from the trailer alone, you know that this is going to be a special effects movie. And with that in mind, you might already be setting yourself up for a movie that doesn't really require much thinking from you as an audience.

Well, that is partially true actually. The movie is a spectacular display of visual effects, both in CGI and props. And these dazzling effects do carry the movie a great long way, I will say that much. And the story, while it is simplistic, actually did turn out to be entertaining. Sure, it wasn't a brain challenger, not by a long shot, but you know what you are getting into with "Gods of Egypt".

While we are on the CGI and special effects, then I must admit that it was the selling point for me, because I was blown away how they had managed to bring ancient Egypt and their ancient Pantheon to life with today's CGI and special effects.

As for the cast, well, they could have opted for someone a bit more thespian, considering the talents of both Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau and Gerard Butler. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that they did it poorly. Actually far from it, but they are more of a physical kind of acting in terms of action, more than they are set in ways of deeper character portraying through acting.

There is a lot of action throughout the entire movie, and you are constantly being bombarded with visual effects, to the point where it brims on being over-used. But it worked for me.

If you enjoy a good fantasy movie with roots in actual ancient history, then "Gods of Egypt" is definitely worth your time and money. I do think, however, that "Gods of Egypt" is the type of movie that you can watch every now and again with some years in between each watching.

I am rating "Gods of Egypt" a well-deserved seven out of ten stars. This was good, wholesome entertainment wrapped up in a visually impressive package.

An entertaining mess that mixes Egyptian Gods and human beings in which the supreme God Ra : Geoffrey Rush has divided Egypt in two parts , the wealthy , prosperous region of River Nile governed by his son Osiris : Bryan Brown and the barren desert run by his another son Set, the relentless God of Darkness : Gerard Butler . But Set wants to take over Egypt's throne plunging the quiet kingdom into destruction , chaos and conflict . As during a spectacular coronation, Set kills his brother Osoris , then Horus : Nikolaj Costner Waldau , son of Osiris and Isis , escapes. Horus who blinded by his uncle is hidden and useless to carry out a merciless vengeance . Then Horus -The Falcon God- is unexpectedly helped by a young human named Bek : Brenton Thwaites who makes a deal with him to save his sweetheart Zaya : Courtney Eaton , who was taken captive, as she encounters in the infraworld to be judged by the death Gods . All of Heaven is at War . All of Creation is at stake . The Journey of a Lifetime begins . The most powerful force on Universe is about to be unleashed . The Battle for Eternity Begins .

A noisy and bombastic adventure with plenty of 3D computer generator special effects , mayhem , and total destruction . It is a cheesy fun in the Saturday Matinee tradition with abundant and overwhelming battles , noisy action and breathtaking fights . A loudy and crowdy epic movie about Egyptian Gods marred by its exccessive FX and lots of scenes with no much sense . Here shows up ordinary contrivances with giant Gods , impressive palaces that are destroyed by violent fights , witchery , bizarre beasts and enormous monsters . Main and support cast are pretty well . Along with newcomers actors as Brenton Thwaites , Courtney Eaton , Elodie Young , the recently deceased Chadwick Boseman , there appears veteran players as Gerard Butler , Geoffrey Rush , Bryan Brown , all of them are frankly well .

It displays a brilliant and sunny cinematography with full of color by Peter Menzies Jr. As well as a moving and rousing musical score by Marco Beltrani . The motion picture was professionally directed by Alex Proyas , though hindered by its overlong runtime and too much visual effects . Alex Proyas is a good filmmaker who has directed successful films such as : The Raven, Dark City, Garage Days , I Robot , Knowing , among others . Rating : 6/10 . Worthwhile seeing .