Now and then, a big-budget movie comes along that looks so terrible, you know it’s going to flop months before it even releases. Not only that, but you find yourself openly questioning why so much money is being spent on something that everybody knows is going to suck, when it would have been much easier to simply set fire to a huge pile of cash instead.
Despite boasting a stellar ensemble and a talented director, Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt is definitely one of those films. The concept sounded ridiculous, the special effects looked like the remnants of a PS1-era video game, and the studio was even forced to apologize for a whitewashing scandal before the mythological turd even saw the inside of a cinema.
And yet, there’s something admittedly and a little perversely entertaining about the whole thing. Don’t get us wrong; Gods of Egypt sucks, and it sucks hard, but almost endearingly so. Chadwick Boseman is the only one who appeared to get the memo that he was appearing in an unintentional camp cult classic, and he pitches his performance as such.
Despite flopping at the box office after barely recouping the $140 million budget and landing Rotten Tomatoes critic and user ratings of 15% and 37% respectively, Gods of Egypt is an inexplicable success on streaming this week. As per FlixPatrol, the laughably incompetent fantasy actioner is currently the twelfth most-watched title on HBO Max. Why? Even these gods don’t know.
