Review of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) by Andy K — 17 Apr 2015

Though far from being one of the most memorable biblical epics, Exodus is not nearly as horrendous as all of the buzz has indicated. Loaded with visual ambition and solid performances round the table, the flaws of Ridley Scott's latest tour has to do with uneven pace and hilarious out of place actors and actresses particularly Edgerton and Weaver.

Both deliver strong performances, but the fact that they're portraying Egyptians is enough to be taken out of the story with sheer hilariousness like seeing a China man in a Slave chain Ala Dave Chappelle.

However, white washing these pictures has been a shared trait across the generations so its it really that big of a deal that this happened? Personally I don't think so. Bale delivers another great performance to add to his growing resume and its strong supporting cast are no slouches either.

On that note I feel Mel Gibson may have been more suitable for this type of a story, but I guess his antisemitism ruled him out from the get go. Scott has been under scrutiny it seems since 2000s Gladiator, which is arguably his last great work even though I enjoyed Prometheus and Kingdom of Heaven quite a bit and feel it doesn't matter what the titan, legendary filmmaker puts out it under a magnify glass.

I feel the pacing of the film is a low point and its PG13 rating holds the film back slightly, but that being said it does push the limits of PG13 and doesn't totally wuss out for the stories more graphic moments.

The films finale also didn't quite live up to what I thought it would display. In all, the film delivers just enough of the goods to get a marginal seal of approval from me even if the mass majority can't get over the white washing of the tale.

News flash world, Charlton Heston wasn't Hebrew either. Enjoy Exodus as a middle of the road visual feast and not put the baggage on it to be one of the most memorable films of all time for its genre or films in general.

There is enough here to appreciate.