Gods of Egypt

Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt is thus far one of the most negatively reviewed Hollywood films of the year. The initial trailer for the film received (for lack of a better word) backlash in the form of comments on social media addressing a predominantly white main cast instead of an all-black one – although (despite its inclusion on the African continent) Egypt’s geographical position and history arguably suggests a historically ethnic population closer to predominantly Arabic or similar, if not a mix of Arabic and black. One can speculate, but in either case, one of the first criticisms that audiences and critics have made surrounds the concept of “whitewashing” (which, while referring to a problem in contemporary cinema, sounds in itself a derogatory term). Due to issues with distribution, release of the film was delayed outside of the US, being released in the UK in June instead of February, after the film had been released in the US on DVD in May.

For instance, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), while a cinematic masterpiece, is listed as an example of “whitewashing” in film, having a predominantly white cast playing Egyptian and Hebrew characters. While one might expect this of a film made in the 1950s, a great deal of western society recognises the diversity of its population and believe that Hollywood films should reflect this in contemporary film. Proyas responded to criticisms surrounding the issue of race and apologised for the casting in Gods of Egypt, noting a number of reasons why his initial attempts to make the cast more ethnically diverse or accurate were hindered. However, the background cast seems greatly more diverse than the main cast, which could be perceived as contradictory. Misrepresentation of characters through race has existed throughout film history and continues to this day. Gods of Egypt is not the only film to be the subject of controversy this year regarding this issue, but for those wishing for more black, Arabic or Egyptian heroes or main casts in American cinema and fantasy, the film misses out on the opportunity to increase the number of present-day movies to meet these kinds of societal standards and inspire Hollywood filmmakers to meet these standards in the future.

Taking into account the controversial issue, one feels it is important to assess the quality of the film itself. The film is set in Ancient Egypt in a fictionalised version of Earth, based on what appears to be Ancient Egyptian cosmology, where gods rule over mortals like a monarchy. The background for the story is explained in a sequence at the beginning, which is a decent sequence even if the visual style doesn’t really match that of the rest of the film.

The story follows Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a thief, who strikes a bargain with Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to go on a quest to retrieve Horus’ eyes, defeat the evil god Set (Gerard Butler) and rescue his love Zaya (Courtney Eaton). The overall acting is somewhat hit and miss. Bek and Zaya seem simple but a little bland; as a couple they are basically oversimplified young lovers. Zaya is barely featured and her central character traits hardly extend past the notion of her faith, and Bek is something of a naïve optimist. The funny thing is how inexplicably agile Bek is established to be in a scene where he dodges booby traps in a treasure chamber, greatly contrasting from his introductory scene where all he does is rob a shop and run down the street! Horus is initially portrayed as a privileged playboy rather than a dignified prince, introduced in a shot where he wakes up with a hangover, which is supposed to be funny but is almost predictable in how tired it is. To be fair, Horus’ character in the prologue could be considered a starting point to contrast to his progression from self-interested recluse to learning respect for the mortals he intends to rule, which gives Bek importance to the plot, and Coster-Waldau gives decent deliveries of it. Often times an issue with the performances, however, is where certain use of emphasis on dialogue can sound slightly strange. Gerard Butler’s performance of Set is one of the most enjoyable in the film. The man has a great villainous charm as he portrays a proud tyrant. It’s actually kind of hilarious to think how the film at the beginning makes no secret of his being evil – his introduction involves interrupting a coronation ceremony with a threatening army, and the other gods think this is totally benign!

Other gods involved in the heroes’ journey are Hathor (Élodie Yung), Thoth (Chadwick Boseman) and appearances by Ra surprisingly portrayed by Geoffrey Rush. Hathor basically serves as Horus’ love interest with whom the two have some mistrust, and she is a contributory member of the team. A creative point to her character is that the filmmakers do give her substantial superpowers linked to her role as the goddess of love besides conventional beauty. Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of Thoth, god of wisdom, though this particular casting has been perceived as the token “magical black man” stereotype, is a thoroughly entertaining performance as a sophisticated, confident, vain and intellectual character to the point that something about him feels otherworldly. Again, one might not expect Geoffrey Rush to play Ra, although his portrayal and the representation of the character shows a side to the figure that one might not get the impression of given his usual depictions in the form of image. The character is seen as a toiling watcher and protector alone in his ship above the world, appearing weak and judgmental but still having power. The supporting cast includes Set’s master builder Urshu (Rufus Sewell), who works well as a slimy, greedy villain’s sidekick.

The mise-en-scène, including costumes, props and sets, is beautifully coloured and detailed with an Ancient Egyptian theme, as is much of the lore of the fictional world. The gods in this film take humanoid form but are able to transform into anthropomorphic animals, though there is a question to why Horus and Set transform into shiny armoured forms when other gods’ animal heads look more organic. Ra’s vessel has a good design, like a primitive boat in space coloured black with golden highlights, and the film includes Ra’s mythological opponent Apophis (who some may refer to as Apep), depicted as a colossal worm instead of a serpent, with a design possessing so many teeth as to make the creature appear positively Lovecraftian.

There are a number of action scenes throughout this fantasy film. Scenes like Horus and Set battling in their winged metallic forms, Bek and Horus trying to strategise against giant serpents rode by Astarte (Yaya Deng) and Anat (Abbey Lee), and Horus fending off a Sphinx (Kenneth Ransom) while Thoth tries to solve a riddle, have energy, high impact action, a degree of tension and fair pacing. However it’s probably worth noting that it is the female Sphinx of Ancient Greek mythology that asks riddles, not the male Ancient Egyptian one that guards the pyramids. The most disappointing action scene is that between Ra and Apophis; he blasts it a few times and it goes away in less than a minute. This colossal worm of chaos is really more of a nuisance to Ra rather than a deadly enemy.

The story is pretty simple. After establishing characters, setting and inciting incidents, the formula of the plot mainly consists of the heroes moving from one location to another to acquire the odd bit of guidance, tools or sometimes allies to help them defeat Set and facing challenges on the way. It’s basically the quest story archetype, and honestly the concept isn’t bad. The story elements and characters are based on Egyptian mythology, and it shows to one familiar with such things, reinventing them in a fantasy setting. However, the writing and plot have their detriments.

Though it makes an attempt in some parts to make dialogue interesting, it isn’t quotable and there are weaker moments. There are funny lines here and there that earn the crack of a smile at least, but unfortunately the writer and director allowed reactions, both in writing and as actor deliveries, that are trying to be funny but are out of place in a film like this, making the tone confused at times and coming off as cartoonish.

Most of the relationships are addressed, though Bek and Zaya don’t have much time together to get an idea of their relationship beyond young love, and there’s barely any romantic chemistry between Horus and Hathor other than attraction and details of their background. Though Horus and Set are shown to be family at the beginning, one is liable to forget that due to Horus’ lack of a sense of personal betrayal and Set interacting with him like a transparent villain. One of the worst neglected relationships is the marriage between Set and Nephthys (Emma Booth). In mythology, they are husband and wife, and the film mentions this in the middle rather than at the beginning when Set and Nephthys are in the same place together at a family event! So when the two are talking about how she once fell in love with him and that he’s gone mad with power, the audience cannot get invested in what should be a complicated or tragic relationship when the film establishes too late that this relationship is supposed to exist in the first place!

There is also a share of inconsistencies in the story that greatly break the audience’s suspension of disbelief, particularly in the ending. The rules are set that Horus cannot transform without both his eyes, except when Ra grants him the power to do so, but only so he can fly up to his ship. Also, Set is given a specific weakness that Horus must go on a journey to exploit. Both of these rules are completely broken, one of which because the hero learns some contrived lesson and the other for no reason at all. The film ends on the kind of cliffhanger that could be considered sequel bait, though the story itself is pretty self-contained. It’s debatable whether the film really needs a sequel, or if the negative reception of the film will allow one.

As a fantasy adventure with beautiful visuals and visual design, semi-interesting lore and decent action (most of the time), Gods of Egypt does have some manner of watchable value. It has creative ideas and the arc between Bek and Horus is executed fairly enough. Where it loses merit to the point of ruination is its inconsistent and sloppy storytelling, mixed quality of dialogue, a number of disengaging performances, lack of interesting drama, and, as so many have pointed out, an ethnically inaccurate cast to the culture that conceived the mythology this story is based on. Originally an idea coming from a good place, but ultimately its appeal barely extends past its visuals.