Gods of Egypt

Why Gods of Egypt (dir. Alex Proyas, 2016)? This is not a film one should go to for knowledge of Egyptian history or mythology.  Nor should one expect to find in its 126-minute duration good acting, narrative skill or logic, interesting ideas, or much of anything else.  It is a celebration of DGI special effects rendered with limited imagination.  Somewhere deep in its foundation is the story of two brothers, one jealous of the other for the place of favor his father has given him.  Unhappy brother kills father, defeats other brother, takes over as king.  There’s something to be made from such a plot, but it’s not made here.  For the most part, the actors in this film are people whose names don’t ring a bell.  Exceptions are Gerard Butler (who plays Egyptian god Set) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who plays Egyptian god Horus). 

How do you get up each morning and look yourself in the mirror knowing that you appeared in a movie such as this one?  Is it the money?  Surely it’s not the privilege of appearing in a work of any merit. There’s none of that here. Does the attraction of appearing in any big money Hollywood production overbalance the shame and humiliation one ought to feel over an association with this work of inane and artless drivel?  Gerard Butler has appeared in some films of note.  What explains his presence here? 

Let's be honest: I am the one who should feel shame and humiliation over having paid money to rent this film, not to mention shame and humiliation for having wasted 126 eye-glazed, mind-numbing minutes watching it—and admitting to it here.