Gods of Egypt

Have you ever seen those movie ads on TV filled with gushing quotes from critics and thought to yourself, “I saw that movie; it was terrible. Where did they find these positive reviews?” If you have, you’re not alone — and you’re going to love ScreenCrush’s newest series, Critics Are Raving!, which balances the cinematic scales with trailers full of slightly more accurate (and slightly more negative) lines from reviews. Real critics. Real quotes. Really bad movies. That’s what’s Critics Are Raving! is all about.

The Razzies are a tough award show to love. Oh, I’m sure plenty of people probably read the headline to this article and  —  depending on their opinion of both Dinesh D’Souza and the DC Cinematic Universe  —  found great comfort in the public mockery of Hillary’s America and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But while awards shows in general might serve the noble purpose of raising awareness about powerful films, the annual Razzies Awards often feel like you’re kicking someone when they’re already down. They’ve already flopped with audiences and critics; throwing a Razzie award at them is the Hollywood equivalent of kicking them when they’re down.

Following the debut of its first trailer a few months ago, it looked like the best we could hope for Gods of Egypt was that it could be this year’s Winter’s Tale — a totally bonkers and baffling, yet stupidly entertaining blockbuster misfire. Reviews have been less than kind to Alex Proyas’ latest effort, which was clouded with controversy due to its primarily white cast. Proyas isn’t too thrilled with those reviews, as the director has shared a lengthy message targeting critics.

Deadpool topped the box office for the third weekend in a row, which is an impressive feat for any movie…but it helps when all of your competition arrives with a thud. Gods of Egypt, Eddie the Eagle, and Triple 9 all flopped in their opening weekends, making the continued box office victory of Ryan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed superhero all the more staggering.

The Wikipedia page for Gods of Egypt says “Lionsgate anticipated [it] to be the first film in a new franchise after it finished releasing The Hunger Games films.”

Gods of Egypt is looking to get in on some of that Super Bowl hype with its very own prime TV spot, which has arrived online ahead of tomorrow's big game, proving that even the most ridiculous movies need some Super Bowl attention — actually, this one could really use it. Alex Proyas' new fantasy-action film has drawn plenty of scorn for its mostly-white cast and its abundance of CGI silliness, and the best case scenario is that we've found this year's Winter's Tale.

Gods of Egypt is a big budget project that sort of came out of left field, but the negative feelings inspired by its trailer and promotional materials are quite familiar. Set in Egypt, the new film from director Alex Proyas features a mostly white cast, recalling Ridley Scott’s unfortunate casting choices for Exodus: Gods and Kings. But unlike Scott, Proyas and Lionsgate are expressing remorse for the decision by issuing public apologies.

The text says this is Gods of Egypt. And I recognize some of the actors here: Gerard Butler as Set, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Horus, Brenton Thwaites as Bek. And I know the director, Alex Proyas, a talented visual stylist who’s made films like the original Crow, Dark City, and Knowing. But what the hell did they make? Unlike so many of these big, loud wannabe blockbusters, Gods of Egypt isn’t a remake of an old movie, or based on a comic book or a video game. And it’s got big crazy CGI effects and Gerard Butler ripping out Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s eyes, and then people fighting giant fire-breathing snakes, and flying dudes with wings. It’s like the Clash of the Titans remake made a baby with Immortals, and then the baby got beat up by 300. Just weird weird weird.

After separate uproars were raised following studio decisions to cast a well-bronzed Jake Gyllenhaal as Middle Eastern in Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time and a comparably well-bronzed Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, and Aaron Paul as Egyptians in Exodus: Gods and Kings, one might imagine that Hollywood executives would get the picture and stop passing white performers off as other races... Read

After years of supporting performances and failed TV shows, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is finally breaking out. The Danish actor has been dominating the small screen as Jaime Lannister on 'Game of Thrones,' and now it looks like he'll be adding another big-screen role to his resume for fantasy epic 'Gods of Egypt.'