Much like its fantasy vision of ancient Egypt as a shiny grown-up playground on the order of the Las Vegas Strip, "Gods of Egypt" is glitzy, decadent and a little bit tacky. Controversy has haunted director Alex Proyas' (2009's "Knowing") $140-million sword-and-sandal epic, beginning and ending with the alleged whitewashed casting of Caucasian Brits and Scots in the lead roles while the racially diverse supporting players are sidelined to primarily portray slaves and commoners. Although there is a certain validity in this observation and a necessary conversation to be had about enduring racism in Hollywood, let's also not kid ourselves that this particular project is some sacred historical recreation of Egypt's age-old past. It's a goofy adventure, no more and no less. Proyas has described the film as being about as much a true story as "Star Wars," though he seems to be getting ahead of himself comparing this picture to that beloved space-opera saga.
In an alternate universe/skewed reality where mortal men share the land with 9-foot-tall deities, god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is set to be crowned the new king of Egypt as father Osiris' (Bryan Brown) 1,000-year reign comes to an end. Before Horus can take over, however, Osiris' vindictive, power-hungry brother Set (Gerard Butler) sweeps in to murder his sibling, steal Horus' eyes (a central source of his strength), and usurp the throne. Desperate to save his one true love Zaya (Courtney Eaton) from servitude and return the volatile land to its once-respectable state, lowly human Bek (Brenton Thwaites) sets out to reclaim Horus' eyes (one hidden in a scorpion-guarded, booby-trap-riddled vault, the other in a faraway pyramid) and save the weakened rightful heir from exile. Hoping an empowered Horus will be able to reverse a tragic fate striking closely to Bek, man and god team up to stop Set from destroying all of creation.
See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review
