This is the review of the "The Expanse" from the TimeOut entertainment
section of the New Zealand Herald newspaper (3 March, 2016) ...

Gods of Egypt
-------------
A faulty pyramid scheme.

Soap opera melodrama and visual effects wizardry combine
in a mythical Egyptian fantasy adventure - and it's an
uncomfortable mix.

Gerard Butler has experience with ancient myths, making
a name for himself as Spartan King Leonidas in fantasy
action film 300. Here he's the Egyptian god Set, the
powerful meglomaniac god of the desert who steals Egypt
from his nephew Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).

Set steals Horus' crown on his coronation day, rips out
his eyes, the source of his power, and exiles him.
Peaceful Egypt descends into chaos as Set enslaves all
mortals to build a phallic monument to the creator of all
things, Ra (geoffrey Rush), and kills all the gods who
defy him.

In an attempt to get his life back, a plucky teenager
thief called Bek (Brenton Thwaites) comes up with a plan
to steal Horus' eyes from Set's treasury in the hope
Horus will rise up against his evil uncle. In order to
fulfill his plan, Bek hops, skips and jumps through a
series of booby-trapped bridges like a young Indiana
Jones, and after completing his mission, slips into the
role of Horus' sidekick.

Egyptian historical pop culture gets a good going-over,
there are pyramids and sphinxes, curvaceous women
half-dressed in beaded robes, gods who transform into
metallic flying beasts as they battle in the sky, and a
trip to the underworld. Horus and Bek even venture into
space, where Ra keeps Apophis, the god of darkness, at
bay each night.

However, no amount of testosterone or Lord of the
Rings-style trickery (making the humans hobbit-sized in
comparison to the gods) can make us believe Gerard Butler
and co are anywhere but on a movie set.

No matter how grand the cityscapes and monuments, or how
luxuriant the palatial rooms with excessive billowing
curtains, the actors look silly, superimposed as they
are into a cheesy hyper-fantasy.

Gerard Butler is more than comfortable as Set, while a
buffed Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is less convincing, although
it's hard to pick if that's because of a hesitancy to
throw himself into the role or a misguided interpretation
of a meek character.

The humorous throwaway lines don't work as well as in,
say, Marvel's Thor franchise, the frenetic fight scenes
are repetitive, and the love scenes corny. But at least
Gods of Egypt doesn't take itself too seriously.


Verdict: Aims for ridiculous, camp and fun - but misses.

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

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