I like a good lost cause, and the following article might fall upon death’s ears as I attempt to conduct a defense of this infamous box office bomb. But any self-respecting fan of the fantasy genre know is, just because the film is derided by general audiences and critics, doesn’t mean it’s a bad fantasy movie. The truth is that if you were to list all the fantasy films ever made, most of them, even beloved classics, were box office bombs.

I love all things about Ancient Egypt. The history and mythology are fascinating. Films like The Mummy have only cemented my enthusiasm and interest in media that deals with this topic. I was interested in seeing this movie. The trailer for the movie revealed a frankly bonkers looking action adventure film. This is not a historical film in any sense . Instead Egyptian mythology serves as the inspiration for a story about the god Horus as he tries to otherthrow his evil uncle Set from the throne of Egypt. A mortal human named Bek offers to aid Horus in his quest if he promises to bring his girlfriend Zaya back from the dead.

The film blitzes the senses with its retina-burning cinematography, its extravagant production design, and blazing visual effects. The plot is lurid and camp. Set murders his brother, the king, and blinds his nephew Horus, before sending him into exile. Once Set takes the throne, all mortals must pay a high price to enter the afterlife. Bek a poor lad who has lost his lover in tragic circumstances offers to steal back the eye of Horus in order to help him regain his lost powers. Where similar films like Flash Gordan and The Mummy embraced the silliness of the genre and leaned into the comedy of the setup. Director Alex Proyas plays this one straight as a melodramatic fantasy epic. I must admit, I was never a big fan of his previous work, despite the praise it got from critics. The crow and Dark city are considered cult films. The last film of his I watched was his mediocre I Robot film, based on the story by Issac Asimov.

The screenplay which is the film’s weakest element was written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless whose other work includes turkeys such as Dracula untold, The last witch hunter, and the recent bomb Morbius. While not terrible movies, I would say both writers have worked on some really mediocre film projects.

None of the characters, except Gerald Butlers Set, really stood out for me in the film. It seems a story was written around the film’s set pieces, and as a result, the story feels disjointed and derivative.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from the Game of Thrones is Horus, and he is fine as the lead alongside Brenton Thwaites as the boring nice guy hero. He looks the part with his boyish good looks, but there is nothing about this character that stands out and he seems to be there to act as a poster boy to attract a young female audience. 

There was a lot of criticism during the films release about the casting of white actors as Egyptian gods. Now, as far as I know, this film is a fantasy film based on the mythology of Egypt, not a historical adaptation.  Now, this argument seems silly, and the cast is diverse with black Panthers Chadwick Boseman playing Thoth and Elodie Yung cast as Hathor the goddess of love. The film struggles to make fantasy cool and mainstream in the effortless way Marvel does with its successful formula of action, comedy, and drama. The little levity and humor offered in this film falls flat, and it’s a shame because if they had only embraced the inherent campiness of the story and aesthetics in the same way that Taika Waititi did with his Thor : Ragnarok  , then I am certain this film would have been a hit.

The cast all do their best with a lame script, devoid of tension or humor. That aside, the film has a number of excellent effects-heavy set-pieces. The stand-out is Geoffrey Rush’s Ra battling against the forces of chaos in space. A smackdown between the gods where they transform into magic armor. A chase scene involving two giant cobras. Yes, it all looks artificial and cartoonish, and it feels like you are watching someone play a video game. The story is low-brow and the pacing is all over the place. But despite the glaring flaws, I really enjoyed Gods of Egypt and admired the bonkers vision that the filmmakers were going for.

If nothing else, it’s original, at least in a visual sense. All the cast know they are in a silly effects-laden movie but play along with it and the result for me was a fun romp adventure that didn’t tax the brain.