“Fuck the gods” is a sentiment that feels prefer it’s in all places proper now, from the extra literal interpretation of Netflix’s Kaos to the variability of “eat the rich” narratives tapping into the simmering anger at this time rising inequality. Ragnarök, the mythological finish of many of the gods in a match of brutal battle and vengeance, is strictly the kind of factor that may converse to how fitfully unfair and finish times-adjacent trendy life can really feel for the time being. Particularly if, like in Twilight of the Gods’ rendition, there’s a mortal who's struggling grave offense by the hands of the deities.
You don’t have to have been a bride to perceive that if Thor confirmed up within the center of the ceremony and killed your complete household, it’d be upsetting. Twilight of the Gods’ Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), nonetheless, doesn’t have to think about; after journeying residence to marry her one real love, Leif (Stuart Martin), the Norse god of thunder massacres her family members proper in entrance of her. And now she has sworn vengeance, come hel or excessive water.
That revenge saga is the beating, bloodied coronary heart of Twilight of the Gods, created by Zack Snyder, Eric Carrasco, and Jay Oliva. It’s the kind of story splendidly served by being animated; as Sigrid assembles a group to invade Valhalla and kill the hammer-wielding god as soon as and for all, she and her cohort can encounter a sorceress within the woods or journey throughout a magical bridge to the land of giants with out the present ever breaking stride. Plus, the character design teases the sequence’ diverse influences and colours our sense of the characters for an added bit of enjoyable. Sigrid seems to be like she could be driving straight out of The Secret of Kells, flatter and harkening again to older-world artwork, whereas some in her troupe really feel nearer to ’90s DreamWorks, with all their hopeful humanity. It displays how she is a bit out of step with these round her — modified by all she’s gone by way of.
As with Rebel Moon or Zack Snyder’s Justice League or Man of Steel (or 300 or Sucker Punch), those that do or don’t jibe with Snyder’s sensibilities as a storyteller will seemingly discover their instincts confirmed right here. This is a man who paints with daring colours, massive feelings, and bombastic intercourse and violence. Still, it will possibly generally really feel just like the chosen medium will get in the way in which of some of the palette actually packing a punch. As the journey picks up and battles get extra harried, the cartoonish nature of the animated violence by no means actually stops holding the story again.
In that means, Twilight of the Gods can typically really feel much less just like the mythic highs of Ragnarök and extra like Prime Video’s The Boys. Like Twilight of the Gods, The Boys is deeply involved with what divine beings owe to us, and the way their indestructibility can deaden them to cruelty of the best order. Both exhibits begin with ugly tragedy giving means to tough retribution. And each exhibits finally push previous intercourse scenes and ugly violence so as to discover a extra considerate exploration of grief, rage, connection, and malice. It’s enjoyable that Snyder’s tackle the superheroes of the second carries a bit extra of an epic weight to it. The battles of gods and males have lengthy been his area, and to see it literalized right here (with a number of giants and different Norse mythology thrown in) solely strengthens the themes he’s so typically taken with exploring round energy and management.
Twilight of the Gods’ final success feels prefer it’s mirrored finest in the truth that nobody units off to kill a god for a similar cause. It permits what may very well be a pat animated retelling of fantasy to grow to be one thing knottier, difficult, and brutal as we see how vicious a saga it may be. Though not all its beats are served by the animated world, the present is way from simply extra fodder for the Netflix animation row, full of richly imagined and diverse takes on gods, realms, and, yeah, intercourse scenes. This is a sequence that might go locations, as evidenced by the ruthlessness demonstrated in its closing episodes. It’s value making time for — gods be damned.
Twilight of the Gods is now streaming on Netflix.
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