THE TOP PICKS1) GODS OF EGYPT
What is it?: Egyptian-born director Alex Proyas has had an epically impressive collaboration with composer Marco Beltrami, from darkly playing a sentient automaton revolt in “I, Robot” to “Knowing’s” Straus-ian realization of the end of days. So when a filmmaker who always thinks of the big genre picture goes bat guano crazy with a 100 million plus version of what’s essentially a 70’s kid’s matinee (a la “Arabian Adventure”) with enough CG sword and metal-suited sandal insanity to make the blue-screened biceps of “300’s” look positively pink in comparison, then you can expect Beltrami to deliver the blood and thunder like he’s never done before. With “Gods of Egypt,” he soars above a flat earth and into the Horus-ruled heavens with a score that delivers on its cliffhanging thrills with worshipful enthusiasm to spare.
Why should you buy it?: While “Gods” is essentially a special effect that happens to star humans in it, what makes this quite wonderful, unjustly derided film so much fun is a resolutely throwback approach that Sabu himself might appreciate, from characters that include a wisecracking thief, his lovely damsel in distress and a screaming, Scottish-accented god of battle, all in a mighty canvas of clearly defined good and evil. The knowing humor, and sand-swept adventure certainly isn’t lost on Beltrami and his lush symphonic approach. Sure these gods might be doing Transformers-esque tricks, but Beltrami isn’t about to bring on electronic giant robot rhythms. His “Gods” run on golden symphonic juice where a multitude of themes are king. Fans of David Arnold’s “Stargate,” let alone Jerry Goldsmith’s “The Wind and the Lion” will have much to enjoy here in the romantic, middle eastern-styled melodies that give the film a sense of grandeur, with such ancient instruments as the Saz, zithers, undulating voices and war-drum percussion creating a “Planet Egypt” of gods and puny humans living in worshipful co-existence, an often nutty kingdom where trumpeting, Arabic majesty can just as suddenly veer into a raging Spanish fandango with the appearance of Godzilla-sized sand worms. While the kind of brass-screaming music that one might hear in a Beltrami horror score a la “Scream” might make an occasional appearance, the continuous sense of symphonic revelation that attends “Gods of Egypt” makes this even better as a continuation of the composer’s mythic exploration of the fantasy genre a la “The Seventh Son,” an energy that hits the gloriously berserk heights for the film’s climax above an ersatz Tower of Babel with some of the most exhilarating musical cross-cutting battle music in eons, complete with chanting and throttling war drums that ring with cosmic muscle.
Extra Special: Both Proyas and Beltrami have unapologetically gone for kid-pleasing gusto with “Gods of Egypt,” with a breathless sense of visual and musical splendor that should be worshipped, especially for fans who feel like they’re now in a time when people have turned away from the ancient orchestral idols that granted a true sense of symphonic wonder in their believers. Much like Michael Giacchino’s mythically resplendent score for the similarly unappreciated “John Carter,” Beltrami’s blazing work will hopefully make sure that these “Gods” will endure in cult immortality. |
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