EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS review by Ronnie Malik – Ridley Scott reimagines a biblical tale

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS review by Ronnie Malik – Ridley Scott reimagines a biblical tale

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Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Maria Valverde, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Hiam Abbass, Indra Verma, Golshifteh Farahani, Tara Fitzgerald, Isaac Andrews

Rating: B-

Famed director Ridley Scott is breathing new life into the famous Biblical story of Moses and his quest to free the Israelites from the tyranny of the Egyptian empire in the film Exodus: Gods and Kings. Will this ambitious attempt at modernizing this classic tale for today’s audiences be the ultimate Sunday school lesson or just another film audiences will want to “Passover”?

The storyline is a familiar one for most of us who have seen Cecil B. DeMille’s classic 1956 film The Ten Commandments starring legendary actors Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. The film opens at the peak of the Egyptian empire as Seti (John Turturro), an aging and rather nice pharaoh, is planning to hand over his throne to his narcissistic son Ramses (Joel Edgerton), but secretly wishes that his nephew Moses (Christian Bale) was the real heir to the city. A prophecy given by the high priestess of the court (Indra Verma) foretells of a leader being born after he saves a king from death. Ramses, fearing that Moses just could save his life one day and take the throne from him, has trouble hiding the jealousy that can clearly be seen through his eyes. Little does Ramses know that Moses will rise to be a leader, but it will not be the Egyptian throne he seeks.

One fine day Moses is commanded by the pharaoh to see what goes on in the slave pits of the city of Pithom. There in muddy trenches Moses see the brutality that the enslaved Israelites suffer at the hands of their Egyptian oppressors. It is in Pithom that Moses crosses paths with a slave named Nun (Ben Kingsley) who tells Moses that his true heritage is Hebrew and that he is destined to lead the slaves out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Alas, the secret that Moses is really Hebrew gets out and Ramses banishes Moses from Egypt. The wheels are set in motion for Moses’ lifelong journey that will connect him with God and free his people from the tyranny of the Egyptian monarchy.

The character of God is played by a rather stern little boy (Isaac Andrews) and for the most part it comes off as pretty ridiculous, laughable and unconvincing, and almost makes Moses look completely nuts. The women in the film Sigourney Weaver, Hiam Abbass, Indra Verma, and Golshifteh Farahani are given very little to do and if you blink too much you might not even notice that these ladies were even in the film. Christian Bale, not surprisingly, comes out rough and tough snarling his way through the role of Moses, and is actually very engaging as the Biblical character. Then we have Joel Edgerton who is intimidating on screen as the cruel sword welding snake-hugging Ramses. Ben Kingsley and Aaron Paul get about a minute of screen time. Ben Mendelsohn gets a few good minutes in the film as the nasty Viceroy. This movie is filled with good actors that for the most part get nothing to do and the characters that do get to do the talking are not nearly as complex as they could be considering the difficult choices and complexity of emotions that each one is facing.

Ridley Scott does stay true to his style of creating visual wonders in his films. The ten plagues that bear down on the Egyptian city of Memphis are pretty spectacular. The Nile River turning red with blood, infestation of locusts, the invasion of frogs, hail storming from the sky and all the other plagues are the most riveting part of the movie. But, the parting of The Red Sea, the climax we are all waiting for falls completely flat.

The CGI effects create an impressive and majestic ancient Egypt along with a foreboding feeling when the camera sweeps over the harsh lands that Moses must cross to reach his true purpose. There are nicely done battle sequences in the movie and Ramses’ pursuit with his army of the Hebrews is done with precision and intensity. Shot in 3D, Exodus provides moments that create an adrenaline rush that many moviegoers seek. But the film is too long and there are many times that it drags to a slow crawl, leaving whatever generated excitement a distant memory.

Exodus: Gods and Kings is not really a religious film but more about a people finding their voice, rebelling, and how power can consume and corrupt a nation. We get to see Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and coming close to arriving at Canaan. These could have been two very big moments in the film but instead come off very anticlimactic. What we have here is a movie with a slow beginning, an exciting middle, and a rather disappointing ending. This will not go down as a movie with epic Biblical proportions, but rather one with some cinematic flare that provides just enough visual entertainment to keep it fun.

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS opens December 12, 2014

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