Exodus: Gods and Kings

Considering the resume of Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott, I am not surprised he chose to adapt this story. Follow in the footstep of Cecil B. DeMille and Steven Spielberg (via DreamWorks) is never easy though. I had trouble identifying the central feature of "Exodus: Gods and Kings". It wasn't the story because the values associated with it were missing. It wasn't the special effects, acting or scale of the movie although these characteristics were impressive. I guess Scott's version of the Biblical story just couldn't live up to the original story that "Gladiator" was.

Whenever you tell a story from the Bible, you inherit the morals that the story contains. The lessons that can be learned from the Book of Exodus are still present in this movie but they are obviously not what drive the film story unlike past versions. The biggest problem I had with "Exodus" was that no central characteristic stood out. The film lacked the drama I expect from this story for example. The main theme in "The Ten Commandments" was freedom and in "The Prince of Egypt", it was faith. Both of these motifs were found in Ridley Scott's version but were depicted as less important than some other unapparent subject matter. If it was the relationship between Moses and Rameses, then the filmmakers did not spend enough time creating an emotional bond between the two characters at the start of this movie. This relationship was very important in "The Prince of Egypt" and that movie had plenty of scenes at the start that established well the brotherly bond that Hollywood always includes between these two princes. The start of this movie saw Moses and Rameses act like co-workers instead of brothers. If I had to pick one central characteristic that attempts to outshine the rest, it would be Moses role as a leader. This however is where the film strays somewhat from its source material. Moses is less of a prophet in "Exodus: Gods and Kings" and more like a military leader. This is symbolically demonstrated by the fact that it is not Moses' staff that parts the Red Sea. Instead, Moses' sword emerges as the water recedes away from it. Moses always seems to doubt himself throughout this show like Maximus did. Another deviation from past adaptations of the story is that Moses in this show doesn't consider himself an Israelite until practically the very end. This plus other shortcomings in the story prevent us from becoming emotionally invested in the Hebrews' well being. There are scenes that show the suffering of the slaves but they don't feel believable, nor is the scene when they leave Egypt because their joy is quite reserved. As another example, the people tolerate the daily hanging of one family quite well. Also, there is more screen time with Rameses and his family it seems. This may create more drama during the Passover scene but the climax as a result isn't as happy as we would like it to be. Speaking of that, I hate the plot hole of how Moses and Ramases survive the tidal wave. One could easily credit God for saving Moses by why Pharaoh? In any case, I did not accept how both of them conveniently wound up on opposite sides of the sea. While I found the depiction of God as a child an interesting choice, it is less miraculous than the voice from the burning bush.

I didn't really get anything special out of Christian Bale's performance either but that doesn't mean it was a terrible acting job. Joel Edgerton has come a long way since the "Star Wars" prequels but out of all of the actors in this film, I loved John Turturro. He is so versatile just like Stanley Tucci. I didn't recognize Sigourney Weaver either but considering the talent of Sir Ben Kingsley, his character really could have used a lot more scenes. The film has an epic scale with thousands of extras that were cast so I was glad for that. The special effects were also noteworthy such as with the plagues. Ridley Scott asserted that one cut of the film ended up being four hours long and considering how long "The Ten Commandments" was, a longer version might have been the solution to this movie's inadequacies.

It wasn't until this movie that I found out that the late Tony Scott and Ridley Scott were brothers. Their styles differ quite a lot so my favorite director out of the two is Tony because of his realism. I was grateful that "Exodus: Gods and Kings" did not end up like "Noah". That movie resembled a science fiction film too much. Ridley Scott on the other hand maintained a Biblical feeling thanks to the design of the film. Scott did no better with the story of Moses unfortunately than he did with Robin Hood. The script doesn't address any religious values and the final product had no center or focus.

3 Stars