Exodus: Gods and Kings

I went into this film with an open mind. I have enjoyed Ridley Scott movies in the past, particularly Gladiator which is the same genre of film as this. Unfortunately, I was left feeling extremely disappointed. Although this is a classic, biblical story that most movie-goers are likely already familiar with, the film-makers have decided to pad this ancient tale with over-the-top action scenes, as well as one-note characters that feel more like cardboard cut-outs as opposed to actual human beings. The most shameful aspect of the film is the part that I was most looking forward to : The Actual Plague. While I was hoping to see harrowing images of Egypt being decimated in a genuinely frightening tale, we are instead bombarded with fake looking CGI that simply left me dry. The plague feels more like a computer montage than an actual scary event.Terrible script. Weak performances. An over-reliance on CGI instead of CHARACTERS and STORY! Overall, just a bad film. Didn't help that they chose big named actors instead of people that looked more like Ancient Egyptians. Pass.

Let me say immediately. Visually, technically, this film is a wonder and for that alone it deserves to be seen but then. Oh brother. Christian Bale, one of my favorites among the post-De Niro crop, is cast as Moses, you know? Moses - the man chosen by God for his humbleness. Christian's Moses blazes with self confidence. The Godly horrors known as plagues are a cinematic jaw dropping experience but when it returns to the actual drama. Oh brother. How can it possibly be? When the great Ridley Scott made his Robin Hood (did you see it?)his star Russell Crowe went to a talk show to promote the movie and called the Erroll Flynn version, "crap" - You see? I think that's at the center of the problem.

This is a well known story and I have also seen the '56 movie 'The Ten Commandments'. So in this film could not foresee the modification, but it did in a slight manner like the later 'Noah' movie. The best part was the visuals, the graphics were so good, hard to resist the pleasure if you are vfx geek like me. That's the reason I love modern movie, especially remake of a classic like 'King Kong'. The problem in this flick was lie in the story telling.

As we know, Ridley Scott is an excellent narrator, but this movie was too short even though it ran 150 minutes. I felt it was just a brief, I mean there were no details or depth in the important scenes. You will know what I'm saying if you had watched '56 movie I mentioned in a above paragraph. That's drawback for the first timers at a same time advantage for not to fall in boredom for those who have already seen other versions. Christian Bale, awesome; Joel Edgerton, good; Ben Kingsley, never required; Aaron Paul, totally waste.

Overall, not cleverly stablised in the scenes that are very important, especially the final one about ten commandments should have been extended a little bit with a moral message. If it was a Peter Jackson movie, definitely it would have been a trilogy with an aggregated time of over 500 minutes. This movie was an entertainer like I enjoyed it than the message deliverer. Must be watched for the amusement and for the pleasure in updating technical aspect of the narration rather than inspiration.

7.5/10

Exodus is yet another big budget Hollywood movie, the other being Noah, to be based on a biblical story. This time, it is about Moses.

Christian Bale stars as Moses, who I believe was a good choice for the role and did pretty well. Can't say the same for Ramses, the evil Pharaoh. Joel Edgerton wasn't bad per say, but he didn't give this bad evil-ish vibe that I wish was present. The movie's writing is at fault here too.

The second half of the movie, starting from the plagues till the end, was great. I loved the plagues and their presentation, they were thrilling and frightening. Would have been even better if there was some breathing room given to them and if there was more suspense created, but oh well. The finale was again Epic, with the red sea rushing back and all. Being a Ridley Scott film, you can surely expect a visual spectacle, and this movie certainly had many. Beautiful views of Egypt, epic scope, great overhead shots, great cinematography all in all.

The CGI was mostly great. Egypt was beautifully realized and we get to feel its grandness. There were a few instances where green screen use was apparent. Soundtrack was decent, but I was kinda disappointed by it. Was hoping to have at least one great track that really gets you going.

Now, the movie had it fair share of flaws. The first half or so got slow pretty soon after the epic opening battle and kinda got boring. The personal stuff, aside from Moses and Ramses conflict, wasn't interesting and bogged down the movie. Also, a child messenger representing God and all the talks that followed was really underwhelming. Would have been better if it was just a voice or something, they could have used Liam Neeson's voice. But my biggest complaint with the movie is that how anti-climatic the quintessential moment was, and I'm of course talking about the splitting of the Red sea. I was in so much anticipation about finally seeing that moment realized perfectly thanks to modern CGI and with Ridley Scott at helm, only to be extremely disappointed by seeing it reduced to nothing but a steady receding of the water. WTF Ridley Scott. I get that they were going for a more realistic approach or whatever, but CMON, somethings aren't meant to be changed/meddled with.

Overall, even with the flaws, I still did like the movie. Don't hesitate to watch it because of the hate it got as majority of it is from extreme religious people or extreme atheists. Just go in with an open mind and you might enjoy it. If nothing else, you can't deny the grandeur and epicness of it.

7.8/10

It has become somewhat fashionable to dismiss Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments because of the arcane Victorian era dialog. But I have to say that Ridley Scott's version of Exodus while technically proficient will never become the Passover viewing treat that DeMille's film has become.

Cousins Moses and Ramses are friends and rivals for the affections of the Pharoah who is Ramses dad. But when it is discovered that Moses is actually the son of Hebrew slaves that his mother Pharoah's sister drew him out of the Nile the succession of the Pharoah's line is secure.

What's not so secure is the kingdom itself as the Hebrews who came over as a family of 13 kids several centuries earlier now are in the thousands and are slaves and they ain't happy about it. In the funny way things work out in life, the adopted Egyptian prince is in fact the promised leader who is going to lead them back from whence they came which is Canaan.

In DeMille's version the dialog may be arcane, but it is also uplifting and inspiring and delivered by the ultimate DeMille leading man Charlton Heston. Yul Brynner as Ramses in that version was the arrogant Pharoah enjoying all his princely prerogatives. They made an evenly matched pair of foes and with them scrapping over Anne Baxter the conflict got personal as well as religious.

Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramses just don't give you people you can identify with.

DeMille was always good with crowds. Note how uplifting the liberation of the Hebrews is in his film. Also the small little vignettes of the various people in the crowd. They are a family/nation in his version. All they are is in Scott's version lumpen proletariat.

Whose idea was it to have the voice of God be that of a petulant child? Instead of the pyrotechnical wizardry of DeMille the Ten Commandments are given almost matter of factly by a kid to Christian Bale.

We've gone beyond Cecil B. DeMille in the art of film making. But there a things in his craft that he was the top, far and above anyone else. Not even a Ridley Scott should try.