Exodus: Gods and Kings | Ridley Scott | December 12, 2014
A great cast, a legendary director, a biblical story, and a massive budget. What can possibly go wrong? Apparently everything. Exodus: Of Gods and Men is poorly written, misuses its cast, and relies far too heavily on CGI. This results in a truly lackluster film. Scott, like Clint Eastwood, has been suffering from late life crisis on the director’s seat.
Set in Old Testament times of B.C. Egypt, we see a young Moses (Christian Bale) taking orders from pharaoh Seti I (John Turturro) along with stepbrother, and best friend, Ramses (Joel Edgerton). The first half of the film works as tool towards Moses’ ongoing curiosity and suspiciousness about his true identity. When Moses first encounters the elderly slave Nun (Ben Kinglsey), he is reminded that there has always been something off about being Egyptian, learning that he is in fact a Hebrew. Returning back from visiting the slave colony, he is exiled by Ramses and his path of righteousness begins.
With Moses’ self realization of his fate and his religion, he sets out on a mission to free his people, with the help of God, in a human form, a child specifically. Initially, Moses’ plan was to battle against Ramses through guerrilla warfare, but that seems too much to be an endless task, so with the help of God, the Hebrews win their freedom through a series of calamities and catastrophes that cripple the Egyptian people, and economy.
All the CGI in the world could not save Exodus. Amongst the flat writing and pacing, there was too much that couldn’t be salvaged. Supporting performances from Aaron Paul, Ben Kingsley, and Sigourney Weaver are completely wasted. Even the masterful parting of the dead sea had me feeling exhausted. It’s a prime example of Ridley Scott falling back to his bad habits, but the great set pieces aren’t enough to save it.
Going with a PG-13 rating really took the edge off the movie’s potential. Had Scott stuck with an R rating like he did with Gladiator, perhaps Exodus wouldn’t have ended up feeling like Robin Hood. Sometimes as a director you have to take those risks to prevent your film from losing its integrity. I have always been a fan of Ridley Scott, but I feel that he has lost his edge as a director. This film is testament to that.
Flat screenwriting, misuse of cast and constant reliance on CGI make “Exodus” a disappointing bore.
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