Lending his name and directorial efforts to the new Netflix series Twilight of the Gods, Zack Snyder lends his trademark hyper-stylised, masculine filmmaking aesthetic to the format of 2D animation for the very first time in this Norse mythology based tale of revenge that has all the blood, sex, monsters and 300-style “bro” energy that you would assume a Zack Snyder driven, R-rated, animated show could be.
Set in a mythical world of large battles, demonic monsters, and fury of Gods, Twilight of the Gods follows a mortal human King, Leif, and an iron-willed warrior, Sigrid, who first meet on the battlefield, where Sigrid saves Leif, and after being spared by the Valkyries, fall in love with intention to marry.
On the night of their wedding, a wrath of terror in the form of Thor Odinson looking for his dastardly brother, Loki, destroys everything that Leif and Sigrid love. As they begin to recover and rebuild from Thor’s attack, the two set on a fantastical journey across many lands, both above and below the surface, on a merciless mission for revenge.
The rich mythology of the Nordic tales that Twilight of the Gods builds it’s narrative on, mixed with the masculine energy of Zack Snyder’s filmmaking style (which for some viewers, may be enough to decide whether they will take it or leave it), leads to a show that leans entirely into the “badass” nature that occurs when those two elements combine.
Every line of dialogue within this show, whether it’s how they’re written or how they’re delivered, is done so with intentional bravado for both the male and female (and everything in between) characters alike. Arguably the most badass character in the show is Sigrid, who’s grit and determination often put her at the forefront of every dangerous encounter or battle.
The vast world of which Twilight of the Gods is set feature some incredibly animated, yet deranged and demonic creatures. Demons, dragons, sirens, zombies, and many more just touch the tip of the iceberg, building upon the Norse mythology in a demented way that not many other adaptations have before. The boldness of how wild this show can get could be attributed to the fact that Snyder has a penchant for taking these iconic stories and putting a grotesquely entertaining spin on them.
Comparable to the more adult skewed content of something like Game of Thrones,this show does not shy away from blood-soaked battle scenes, with brutally violent moments splattering onto surrounding characters and landscapes in abundance. Even the animated nudity and sex scenes are pushing the boundaries of what is necessary for the show, ultimately showing a dangling, flaccid, animated penis within the first 10 minutes almost just for the sake of saying, “just because we can”! Add on a few f and c-bombs for good measure, and Twilight of the Gods seems to be doing all it can to cement itself as an animated series that is truly adults only, but with a story and atmosphere more catered towards adolescent boys.
The hyper-masculine and stylised tone of Zack Snyder is all-over Twilight of the Gods, and if that’s something you either can enjoy or forgive, then it’s an entertaining enough binge watch that has all the energy, action, and insanity that you would expect from Snyder’s animated take on Norse mythology.
All eight episodes of Twilight of the Gods will be streaming on Netflix from September 19.
