Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Gods of Egypt 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 20, 2016

If you’re a parent, there has probably come a time in your life when you’ve attended a school performance, recital or somesuch event featuring one of your kids where you know going in the quality of things is probably not going to be first rate, but you still feel like you really ought to behave and pretend to appreciate what’s being offered. Something along those same lines may occur to some viewers of Gods of Egypt, an undeniably hammy throwback to sword and sandal epics of yore. The film features a patently ridiculous screenplay and some equally ludicrous performance choices, but it is so filled to the brim with eye popping splendor that it begs some charitable viewer to think, if only for a moment, “Wow—someone really spent a lot of time making that happen.” Egyptian mythology is certainly a ripe field to be harvested for cinematic treatment, but part of what ails Gods of Egypt is that it eschews Thomas Bulfinch in favor of Syd Field, if I may be permitted to mix authors if not metaphors. Instead of detailing the fascinating world of Egyptian deities (and let’s face it, there are a lot of them) as that world has been handed down via tales told for umpteen generations, Gods of Egypt “reinvents” things, offering iconic gods and goddesses as cohabitators of a sort of “alternate universe” where humans and those they pray to live side by side. In a way, that in and of itself is a throwback to wonderful films like Jason and the Argonauts, but despite the obvious time and talent thrown at this picture in veritable spades, Gods of Egypt seems decidedly less magical than the “low tech” blandishments of Ray Harryhausen.

Many years ago due to some tangential research I needed to do while working on a Master's thesis about late 19th and early 20th century occultists, I found myself swallowed by the rabbit hole of Egyptian mythology, at least as it was being touted in certain upper crust British circles in the era I was studying. Fans of occultist Aleister Crowley will know that, to cite just one example, his tarot deck is called the Thoth Deck (after the Egyptian god of wisdom), and Crowley’s explanation of the structure and uses of the deck is appropriately called The Book of Thoth. Due to this course of study, I can therefore tend to view films which seek to exploit elements of ancient Egyptian culture and beliefs through a kind of probably high falutin’ intellectual filter. When films don’t take themselves seriously, as was the case with the reboot of The Mummy, it makes taking their mythological excesses and outright inaccuracies a bit easier. The problem with Gods of Egypt is that, despite attempts at some cheeky post-modern humor, the film is relentlessly serious about reordering Egyptian mythology to suit its own questionable whims.

In this new if arguably unimproved Egypt Osiris (Bryan Brown) is not just a deity but a ruling King of Egypt who is abdicating in favor of his son Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Seemingly all of Egypt has been invited to the festivities, including young Aladdin-esque rogue and thief Bek (Brenton Thwaites) and his equally Princess Jasmine- esque girlfriend Zaya (Courtney Eaton). Suddenly Osiris’ brother Set (Gerard Butler) bursts into the scene, wreaking havoc that leaves Osiris dead and Horus horribly disfigured (in a weirdly Oedipal plot artifice). Bek and Zaya initially escape the carnage, but with Set now in control of things, most “mortals” are reduced to slavery. While Bek seems to be toiling (at least fitfully) on the pyramids, Zaya has at least been assigned to the household of Urshu (Rufus Sewell), architect to the Gods (in a plot point that is at least a little reminiscent of Land of the Pharaohs, co-written by that well known Egyptologist William Faulkner). The film is already precariously close to going off the rails, with no clear delineation between two apparent “bad guys” (i.e., Set and Urshu). Just as problematic in this early going are unfathomable jumps in action, as if editor Richard Learoyd felt it was just best to move on even if that meant leaving several salient plot points and/or bridging mechanisms by the wayside.

The main plot thrust of Gods of Egypt finds Horus and Bek teaming up not to just unseat Set, but to hopefully rescue Zaya, who (in yet another weirdly referential element) is wandering post-mortem (more or less, anyway) through the underworld like Eurydice. However (and this is a pretty major “however”), the film is stuffed to the gills with various sidebars. There are the machinations of Hathor (Élodie Yung), once seemingly almost betrothed to Horus but later the main squeeze of Set, who nonetheless tries to get back into Horus’ good graces. There is also a quest to retrieve one of Horus’ missing eyes (the whole “eye of Horus” aspect is pretty jumbled and has very little to do with original Egyptian formulations). And there is also the cosmic battle between Ra (a probably unintentionally hilarious Geoffrey Rush) and Apophis which ultimately folds none too comfortably into the slightly less cosmic battle between Horus and Set. Oh, but wait—the Sphinx (Kenneth Ransom) also shows up to make the heroes play an Egyptian version of Jeopardy (well, not really, but you get the idea).

Now all of the foregoing might seem to indicate that I hated Gods of Egypt, but the fact is I actually ended up enjoying it, if sometimes for reasons the filmmakers probably didn’t intend. The story plays awfully like a videogame at times, something that should appeal to the “lowest common denominator” in at least the male demographic, and there’s no denying that the film is often incredibly sumptuous to behold. One of the prime conceits of the story is that the gods, while human in form (when they’re not transforming into their “totemic” personae, anyway), are giants towering over mortals, kind of like Gandalf in comparison to Bilbo (and his kin) in The Lord of the Rings: The Theatrical Trilogy, albeit even more exaggerated. The ingenuity of the VFX team on this film is undeniable, and the “reality” of the interactions between gods and humans beautifully established (another kind of cool effect stems from the idea that the gods’ blood is gold, so when they get wounded, they “leak” a rather redolent looking liquid).

There’s a great deal of whimsy sprinkled through the film, with various gods flying through the air on what are essentially ancient Egyptian planes, while on the earthly (or underworldly) side of things, the horrors of Hades are also nicely detailed. All of this said, while the “window dressing” in this film is frequently incredible, the performances are all over the place, with most of the large cast doing English (or faux English) accents, but Butler resolutely sticking to his Scottish burr. Butler just doesn’t seem at ease playing a villain, and in fact one of the film’s major stumbling blocks is in its depiction of Set. “Humanizing” him (for want of a better term) as a frustrated son and spousal sparring partner doesn’t help matters, tending to undercut what should be the audience’s hatred for the character. That leaves Sewell’s Urshu to pick up most of the “bad guy” slack, an odd formulation given the relatively minor role the character plays in the overall story. Gods of Egypt attempts to plaster over these (and many other) problems with a lot of noise and fury, not to mention CGI. At times they almost get away with it, but as anyone who has spent time examining ancient Egyptian myths knows, the Egyptian gods and goddesses do not suffer fools gladly, and Gods of Egypt’s creative team may well have been fools to have attempted to redesign these deities in their own image.

Gods of Egypt 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gods of Egypt is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p transfers in 2.40:1 (on separate discs). The IMDb lists this as having been digitally shot with Red Epic Dragon cameras at 6K, with a 2K DI (which seems a little churlish, given the resolution of the original capture). A lot of this film was "green screened" (though the bonus featurettes indicate this particular film was actually "blue screened"), and as a result a lot of the CGI backgrounds have the slightly misty, soft look that seems to be part and parcel of this technique. Some of the non-background VFX are also a bit on the soft side, including the flames that regularly subsume Ra. That said, some of the more prominent "artificial" elements, like the huge Dune-like sand snakes, offer excellent textures and precise details. Several scenes are bathed in an interesting (and at least relatively unusual) ruddy brown-red color, while a couple of sequences in the underworld are suffused with a more traditional blue grading, neither of which depletes detail levels to any great degree. There are also some interesting textural details provided in elements like the wings that some gods and goddesses "grow" when they morph into their totemic (frequently animal headed) selves. In terms of "real" elements like the cast and practical props like sets and costumes, detail levels are often exceptional, offering crisp accountings of everything from fabrics to facial pores. The palette is very healthy looking, with a wide range of tones offering a kaleidoscope of visual information in some of the busiest wide shots. Contrast is solid and consistent and black levels convincingly deep. There were a couple of very minor issues that almost resembled aliasing at the very edges of some of the CGI wings on the gods, but these might have been actual rendering issues and they're minimal in any case.

The 3D experience is frankly a little underwhelming, with what seem to be some major missed opportunities to provide "in your face" moments in sequences like the one featuring the aforementioned sand snakes. While there's relatively little thrusting outward toward the viewer, depth within the frame is handled better, with some seemingly minor elements like rose petals sprinkled at Horus' would be coronation providing an immediate and unmistakable feeling of spatial differentiation. As with so many SFX blockbusters recently, at least some of the presentation's dimensionality is at least partially hobbled by long sequences which take place in the dark or at least dimly lit environments.

Gods of Egypt 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gods of Egypt features a rowdy DTS:X (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 core) track that provides all of the bombast (and maybe then some) that audiophiles have come to expect from these special effects blockbusters. There is a ton of surround information from virtually the get go here, with huge, cascading effects tumbling through the surrounds in several of the huge set pieces that crop up every few minutes. Overhead activity is strong when, for example, Set goes "flying" in his rather improbable "plane". LFE is regularly exploited, with clear front to rear pans in scenes where, for example, Ra bursts into flame. Dialogue is generally cleanly and clearly presented, but I do have one minor quibbling qualm with the mix, which I assume was also a "problem" in the original theatrical presentation. The sound designers have sought to increase the feeling of magnitude in the already oversized gods and goddesses by frequently having their voices awash with really heavy reverb. This makes their voices tend to spill rather appealingly into the surround channels, but it also tends to dilute their impact at times, making them just slightly hard to hear in some of the noisier moments. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track.

Note: The disc audio menu touts DTS-HD Master Audio tracks for both the Spanish and English stereo tracks, but they are in fact DTS tracks, as reflected above in our specs.

Gods of Egypt 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 3D disc in this set contains no supplemental features. The following supplements are found on the 2D disc:

• Deleted Storyboards (1080p; 5:45) feature animatics for two scenes.


• A Divine Vision: Creating a Cinematic Action Fantasy (1080p; 11:48) is pretty rote EPK stuff, though there's some good information on the film's production design and special effects challenges.


• Of Gods and Mortals: The Cast (1080p; 10:52) features interviews and behind the scenes footage.


• Transformation: Costume, Make-Up and Hair (1080p; 11:10) focuses on those three elements while also providing more behind the scenes footage.


• On Location: Shooting in Australia (1080p; 12:44) shows some actual honest to goodness locations away from the blue screen wonderment of much of the film.


• The Battle for Eternity: Stunts (1080p; 11:38) has some fun footage of fight choreography as well as animatics for some sequences.


• A Window into Another World: Visual Effects (1080p; 10:58) offers good interviews and coverage of the massive SFX included in the film.

Gods of Egypt 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At a recent dinner party, I managed to spill some very greasy food on a chair and I turned to the hostess and said, "I'm sorry, you can hate me for being a slob." She jokingly responded (at least I'm hoping it was a joke), "Oh, Jeff, there are so many reasons to hate you, being a slob is way down the list." Similarly, there was a bit of umbrage when a lot of pretty "white" folks were hired to play Egyptians in this film, but given the overall lumbering qualities of Gods of Egypt, that may actually be one of the less contentious issues many audience members will have with it. The sword and sandal epics of yore were typically not cinematic masterpieces (there were exceptions, of course), so maybe a bit of slack cutting is warranted with regard to Gods of Egypt as well. The story may be patently ridiculous, and the performances questionable, but the film is definitely a sight to behold (director Alex Proyas, whatever his perceived or real faults, can typically be relied upon to provide a visual feast). I can't outright recommend the film, but will state for those willing to ignore its (many) faults, there's a ton of incredible visuals to enjoy, as well as a typically "epic" soundtrack. In any event, technical merits are generally very strong for those considering a purchase.