Prisoners of the Sun

I'm potty about Egypt movies so I couldn't resist this one especially if they have a little bit of monsters and a little bit of SF, which this seems to have both and how can you resist a movie with both Joss Ackland and John Rhys-Davies? But it's a free movie on Prime and as expected the plot is a bit weak, and aside from the two big name actors, well, while the others do a competent job certainly the writing for the dialogue is very weak; but hey it's free and you got a fast forward button so skip some of the corny dialogue and pseudo intrigue and it's not a bad free movie to watch. I suppose one more area to consider is real archaeology; here also the movie is a joke because among other things, a how many thousands of year old stone slab with cartouches blocks their entrance, and they're smashing it with a hammer? Obviously they have the Heinrich Schliemann Playbook, smash first ask questions later. Hey buddy maybe I could take a photo of that first you know and like publish it or something? Nah just smash it! Who cares what it says! Don't show it to your archaeology students but it's a lot of fun. Hey don't miss the hornets who happen to live in a dark totally sealed tomb and they've been there for how long? What's their food source? Wait while I whip out my handy-dandy flamethrower! It might work better with a mystery 3000 overlay audio.

I'm a fan of this genre; it's one of those "guilty pleasures" we all have. This one, however, was one I definitely should have skipped.

The movie drags up every possible trope and cliche of other similar films: sneaky bad guy, learned professor with his almost-as-learned assistant (sidekick), and a couple of others who were eminently forgettable. Then there are the ancient curses, resurrected mummies (or are they???), and a sandstorm. John Rhys-Davies is the only actor of note in it, as well as the only one who can act. I have no idea why an actor of his repute would do this film. Was he bored and had nothing else to do? Did he just want an easy paycheck? Even he had to resort to over-acting in some scenes just to give it some energy.

Short version? Don't bother. M.

If you don't expect too much from this movie, then "Prisoners of the Sun" is actually entertaining enough for what it is. But just a word of warning, don't get your expectations up too high.

"Prisoners of the Sun" is about professor Masterton (played by John Rhys-Davies) who is uncovering an ancient pyramid, just in time for a celestial event that takes place only once every 5000 years. Deep within the heart of this ancient pyramid is the secrets of the lore of ancient Egypt and the visitors from beyond our world who brought civilization and marvels to mankind. But the trek to the heart of the pyramid is a perilous one.

Essentially, then the storyline was alright, cheesy, yes, but still fun enough to watch. The storyline was very predictable and didn't really offer much in any kind of surprises or grand moments.

The effects in the movie were good enough, although don't expect to be dazzled or blown away.

As far as the acting in the movie went, well, then once again don't get your hopes up too high, because this is most definitely not award-winning performances. People did fair enough jobs with their roles, but it just didn't feel wholeheartedly.

The ending of the movie was really a slap in the face, especially after having sat through an hour and a half only to have the movie end with such an anti-climatic shut down.

And with their constant descent and venture into the pyramid, it was surprisingly amazing that once it all collapsed that they were right back up to the ground level in a blink of an eye.

If you enjoy adventurous movies that include spelunking, treasure-hunting and ancient civilizations, then there are far better movies available.

Take a healthy dollop of Indiana Jones, a substantial amount of Aliens and Predators and some sprinkling of The Mummy - no, not any of the remakes! The original! I take it that John Rhys-Davies and Joss Ackland are short of cash in their dotage...

This pretends to be a mix of old time adventure and some meager sci-fi and it fails.

Acting is OK. There are no more damsels in distress than what is usual today - meaning none. Gender equality-wise, that's good! Women are quite capable by themselves and they really don't need men with hair on their chests to rescue them from anything.

There's no sex and no nudity - tends to get sort of awkward. Comforting! That means we're "down to some serious action". Ahem... Well...

The plot starts out OK, promising actually, but this production doesn't take off and doesn't deliver. It may be comforting to see old faces amongst all the new ones but wrinkles doesn't cut it.

There's neither hero nor heroine in this concoction.

The CGI is good, but with the software available today, who'd flunk it?

See it if you have to. But you don't, do you? No really!

A multinational expedition discovers a lost city beneath a pyramid, where they must stop the reawakened gods of ancient Egypt from initiating the apocalypse.

Despite a good cast, decent writers and all that, this is nothing special. I am not sure if it was a made-for-SyFy film, but that is exactly how it comes across. There is an interesting idea (however misguided) about Osiris actually being the Osiri people... I like that, even if it ignores how Egyptian is translated into English...

But overall, this is rather blah and not really worth a viewing, or at least not a second viewing. Could have spent my time better.