Review of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) by Robert H — 22 Jun 2015

Ridley Scott could do epic films in his sleep, and his sense of scale in storytelling has few equals these days. However, EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS is definitely one of his lesser efforts. To begin with, it was a fool's errand to try and remake Cecil B.

DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Secondly, a lot of choices he makes in the details of the story will not go over well with the a large part of the target audience. By now, the story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt is ubiquitous in literature and legend.

Ask anyone and they'll probably be able to tell you part of it, if not the whole thing. So, the onus was on Ridley Scott to do something new and innovative to justify this new cinematic interpretation, and what the writers came up with is good and bad, in about equal measure.

One major change which will certainly turn off Evangelicals is jettisoning the supernatural aspects of the story entirely, opting to ground it in history and reality as much as possible. So, the 10 Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea are straightforward natural disasters/occurrences.

Then there's the portrayal of God as a petulant child, again, which will not sit well with the religious segment of the audience. Too bad for them that such a characterization is apt if you read the Old Testament thoroughly.

What doesn't translate so well is the relationships among the central characters. I never quite bought the bond between Rameses and Moses, nor between Moses and his wife Zipporah. In general, the acting was fine given the talent involved, but none of them felt truly invested in the material, such that occasionally it came off more stagey/contrived than THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

The film also as a dreadfully slow pace and staggers from setpiece to setpiece with little or no emotional involvement or stakes beyond what is conjured up through some admittedly awesome visual effects.

Ah, the visual effects. This is where the film comes out head and shoulders above its predecessors, and is really the only legitimate reason for seeing this. As stated before, Ridley Scott can do spectacle like no other and he doesn't disappoint here.

There are a few well-staged battle sequences, and the 10 Plagues and crossing the Red Sea must have been jaw-dropping in theaters (I watched this on a Blu-ray). When all is said and done, the only reason I'm being so generous with the rating, or even really bothered buying it at all is because I'm a Ridley Scott fan and completist.

Most other people would be better served by watching the Cecil B. DeMille film.