Christian Bale
Joel Edgerton
John Turturro
Aaron Paul
Ben Mendelsohn
María Valverde
Sigourney Weaver
Indira Varma
Ben Kingsley

Adam Cooper
Bill Collage
Jeffrey Caine
Steven Zaillian

150 mins.
Action, Adventure, Drama, Biblical
December 12, 2014

Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images. (MPAA)

Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” came under fire for hiring white actors to play most of the lead (emphasis on lead) roles. (Ben Kingsley, who is mixed, is a notable exception.) Some of those actors wear makeup and bronzer to look more like their characters. It’s a shame that this kind of thing still goes on, but that’s not the focus of this review. I will leave that to individual viewers to ponder. …

Regardless of that mistake (multi-cultural casting of the lead roles might have been a better choice à la Mark Burnett’s and Roma Downey’s “The Bible” series), the film itself has its moments: The depiction of the plagues on the Egyptians works rather well. On the other hand, the interpretation of the parting of the Red Sea, which actually doesn’t part in this film, is more plausibly presented and has great visual and sound effects; but it loses a bit of magic in the process. The more you understand something, the less mysterious it is.

This is the kind of film that you would expect from Scott, though. If you’ve seen “Gladiator,” then you can guess what this film will be like. “Exodus: Gods and Kings” should be called “Gladiator: Exodus Edition,” instead. It has a similar look, but it isn’t nearly as arresting as “Gladiator.” That doesn’t mean that it’s bad. OK is more like it. If you’re wondering what bad looks like, attempt to watch Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven.” Good luck to you.

As for the actors, they do their jobs. But the pacing is a mixed bad. Inconsistent is the appropriate word: The pace of this film is like an old, temperamental car. It sputters along in fits and starts. And when it lags, it lags. …

As for the story, it isn’t exactly as it is told in the Bible, but I guess that keeps things from being thoroughly boring. I wouldn’t call it inspired, though. The writing is just as inconsistent as the pace, but, again, I guess it has its moments. For instance, the interpretation of the burning bush is interesting. This film needed a whole lot more of that kind of sensibility and imagination.

All in all, “Exodus: Gods and Kings” isn’t the kind of rousing success that it needs to be. The Moses of this film could have learned a thing or two from Maximus Decimus Meridius of “Gladiator.” However, while Scott doesn’t break new ground, he does avoid completely wasting our time.

Verdict: OK

About: (Source: ExodusMovie)

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Prometheus) comes the epic adventure EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, the story of one man’s daring courage to take on the might of an empire. Using state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharoah Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 400,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.