TV Review | Twilight of the Gods - Future of the Force

“Despite impressive visuals, Twilight of the Gods is a disappointment. Zack Snyder’s series relies on gratuitous sex scenes and extremely gory violence but it forgets to actually deliver a good story.”

After Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder is teaming up with Netflix again for his first TV series. Twilight of the Gods is an 8-episode animated series with runtimes ranging from 27 minutes to 42 minutes. All episodes are now streaming worldwide on Netflix.

ZACK SNYDER’S RETURN TO ANIMATION

*Twilight of the Gods* Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2024

Twilight of the Gods is not only Zack Snyder’s first series, it’s also his first animated project in 14 years. If you haven’t watched Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, I definitely recommend it. It’s an underrated Snyder gem! Obviously, a return to animation for Snyder is quite intriguing. All the more since the premise of this series is a good one. It’s a story based on Norse mythology. On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a deadly attack from Thor, the god of thunder. This sets them with an unlikely crew on a quest for vengeance against the gods. On paper, it sounds intriguing.

With Snyder, it’s either incredibly great or ridiculously bad, there’s no in-between with him. Unfortunately, this one is a complete disappointment. It’s the execution of this premise that fails. In fact, it’s never explored its fullest. It’s a superficial story with no real character development. So much could have been done with a revenge story set in the Norse mythology. On top of that, the series is one episode too long, it drags things out in the wrong way. While if done well, there was more than enough story to tell with 8 episodes.

SEX AND VIOLENCE

Instead, this series solely relies on gratuitous sex scenes and extremely gory violence. When I say extremely gory violence, it’s even more violent than the average Japanese action shonen. It’s the Norse mythology, these people are fighting with swords and axes, so of course you should expect blood. But, this is something else. It’s constant effusion of blood and people exploding or being chopped off in the most atrocious possible ways. On the violence side, it’s an actual horror film. It’s over the top all the time. There’s nothing that justify most of these scenes except for doing it for the pleasure of having something gory.

As for the sex scenes, it is quite literally porn scenes. There is no other way to describe these – high budget animated porn scenes. I have never seen sex scenes that graphic in films or series before. And there’s at least one in every episode, whether it’s just two people doing it or a threesome. As the series progresses, it just keeps getting worse. Sex scenes are good when they serve the story, but here they don’t. It’s simply porn. At times, it even feels like a porn parody of a fantasy series. You’re left wondering what are you watching. It’s a shame because it ruins what could have been an interesting series.

ANIMATION

There is no denying that Zack Snyder has an eye for visuals. Plus, Jay Oliva has proven time and again that he is a talented director and storyboard artist. All the DC animated films he worked on were visually beautiful. Thus, it’s no surprise that Twilight of the Gods is a visual wonder. This is some very fine animation that they have crafted for this series. Indeed, the scenery always feels like a painting. You will be left in awe at the places the characters visit. Undoubtedly, on the visual side, they have done a great work bringing the Norse mythology to life. It may be a deeply flawed series but at least it has its own animation style that stands out. This animation style deserved to be used again for a better series.

VERDICT

Despite impressive visuals, Twilight of the Gods is a disappointment. Zack Snyder’s series relies on gratuitous sex scenes and extremely gory violence but it forgets to actually deliver a good story.