Gods of Egypt

The last time we heard from the gods of Egypt, the Lord was executing judgments against them through the business end of Moses’ and Aaron’s staffs. Ra (Geoffrey Rush), Set (Gerard Butler), Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and the rest of the desert deities make a return in Gods of Egypt, but they (and the film) are as plagued as ever by human frailties.

Set kills his brother, Osiris, and takes the throne of Egypt from the rightful heir, Horus, the son of Osiris. Set also plucks out Horus’ eyes, leaving him blind and powerless. In the resulting chaos, competing gods and their human armies clash. A beautiful, young mortal spectator, Zaya (Courtney Eaton), is hit by an arrow and begins her journey through the underworld. Her theft-prone lover, Bek (Brenton Thwaites), strikes a bargain with Horus: Bek will break into Set’s temple and retrieve Horus’ orbs if Horus will use his influence with Anubis, god of the underworld, to return Zaya to life before she passes through the nine gates into irreversible afterlife. Needing his eyes to take on Set, Horus agrees to team up with Bek but spurns the notion that he, a god, must keep his word to a man.

Relying more on swordplay and the goddesses’ skimpy outfits (which give the film its PG-13 rating) than on compelling intrigue, the film’s plot grows wearisome. A dragon-sized cobra and ferocious sphinx break up the tedium, but Ra’s ongoing battle with a cloud-shaped demon looks hokey. And despite impressive sets, at times the greenscreening is noticeable.

A grace-versus-works dispute early in the film makes for an interesting theological thread. After killing Osiris, Set tells the newly enslaved Egyptians that the afterlife is not a gift. “From now on, you have to buy your way in with riches,” Set taunts. Thankfully, the real God of Egypt (and the rest of the universe) Himself paid the price to free His people.