Review of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) by Pouyan S — 31 Dec 2015

There's no denying Ridley Scott's take on the biblical epic story of Moses and the Ten Commandments was a big budget bust. Unfortunately, there is a reason the general audience didn't give it a chance - 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' is a bloated mess. While the story is a classic that millions of people are familiar and can identify with, this adaptation lacks a lot of the sentimentality and human connection found in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 Charlton Heston-starrer.

One element that cannot be faulted is the all-star cast. From picking Christian Bale to portray the lead and Joel Edgerton to be his nemesis and supporting roles from Sir Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro and Aaron Paul. None of these performances should be considered subpar, and no one really stands out as being a weak link. If acting is not the culprit, then what is? It's the lack of a true "heart" in the story. Scott executes 'Exodus' as if it were just another historical epic a la 'Gladiator' or 'Kingdom of Heaven.' While his technique worked on the aforementioned films (mores in the former than in the latter), it just doesn't work here.

The special effects are good, but not great (giant Red Sea wave, I'm looking at you). For any film that can't succeed on dialogue, plot or acting, it's imperative that it makes up for it in the effects department. So again, 'Exodus' does not receive many points here. Then, there are those who questioned the historical accuracy of 'Exodus' as well as those who complained about the fact that many of the cast were white and not Jewish. Even if those were resolved to result in a film that many were expecting to see, this would not save it.

The fact remains that 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' is an ill-conceived, lazy movie devoid of any real interesting aspects. It should be avoided like a plague of locusts.