Review of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) by Tyler R — 02 Jun 2015

Frustrating. Absolutely frustrating. On one hand, we have an excellent cast, beautiful visuals, and magnificent set production. On the other hand, we have a wasted cast, a painfully stupid interpretation of God, and very slow pace.

Exodus: Gods and Kings retells the age old story of Moses as he leads his people to freedom. First off, what a great cast. Secondly, what a wasted cast. If it isn't Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton are the stars, so obviously they get the most screentime, but I never thought actors such as Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley would get billed so highly, then given almost literally nothing to do.

And it doesn't help that the pace is unbearably slow. We get the primary conflict of Moses coming to lead his people, but then we get a superfluous love story that is thrown in for...reasons. And then there is the interpretation of God.

..Keeping religion out of this, how did anyone think this interpretation would be good from a storytelling standpoint? The less said, the better, though. On the bright side, we get beautiful visuals and fantastic set production.

It's great seeing actual sets on location being favored above a soundstage. And in terms of visuals, the standout are the ten plagues, which look great. But other than that, there is nothing to recommend about this film.

Just go watch the superior Charlton Heston classic.