I’ll be brutally honest before beginning this review… I’m not a religious man. That’s not to say that I can’t enjoy a well made Biblical epic now and again. In fact, it seems like there’s been something of a renaissance for the genre lately with titles like Noah hitting the big screen. The latest is Exodus: Gods and Kings which re-imagines the story of Moses and his attempts to free his people from their cruel ruler.
The movie attempts a grittier, more realistic and relatable take on the character. As the story begins, Moses (Christian Bale) is an Egyptian Prince leading armies in battle. Despite getting on well with Pharaoh Seti (John Turturro), his relationship with brother and future ruler Ramses (Joel Edgerton) is more tenuous. After his true identity as a Hebrew is revealed, Moses is exiled. After finding refuge in a remote village, the protagonist begins a new life. But while tending to some stray sheep, he is struck over the head by a stone.
This knock on the noggin results in visions of a higher power that implore Moses to free the slaves of the empire. While God is depicted to the prophet as a young boy giving commands, to others no one is visible and Moses looks like a raving lunatic. It’s an unusual and bold choice to attempt to ground the story and one that continues when a series of plagues befall the kingdom. Great pains are taken to explain how a chain of bizarre events could actually occur and follow one after another. Yet for all its attempts at grounding the story in science, the movie can’t help but veer into the spiritual and supernatural for the final “Death of Firstborn” curse.
At least it all looks fantastic. The effects work is impressive, the Egyptian settings convincing and photography incredibly slick. As always, director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator, Prometheus) has powerful command of the visuals and uses 3D effectively. Whether he’s lining up the characters for a dialogue scene, hurtling the camera through desert fauna and across scenic vistas, shooting arrows and swinging swords in battle, or inventively capturing the story’s many plagues (including a crocodile attack as well as the unwelcome appearance of frogs and locusts), it all looks wonderful with spatial depth impressively conveyed.
Unfortunately, it’s the characters that aren’t nearly as gripping. There’s a general heaviness to the proceedings that weigh the entire movie down. Bale is particularly solemn as Moses and while it’s commendable to try and give the man a gravitas and humanity previously unseen on the big screen, it all comes across as unrelentingly dour. The slow-pacing (particularly early on) as Moses makes his own way across the desert and replants his roots adds to the stuffiness.
And when the characters do interact, it results in a lot of low-volume growling. By the second half, viewers will be wishing there were more old-fashioned histrionics to liven events up. Edgerton gets a memorable line or two here and there, but even his villainous turn seems unnecessarily muted. With almost no moments of levity in the entire 150 minute running time, it all begins to feel leaden. And while the Red Sea climax is impressive, the story’s aftermath is clunky (as characters reappear after experiencing what appeared to be certain death). It makes the whole enterprise come off as, well… silly.
It’s lovely to look at, but Exodus: Gods and Kings never really grabs viewers. There’s not quite enough here to entertain casual moviegoers (like myself) and those with a serious religious interest in the material won’t be happy with the artistic liberties that have been taken. In the end. this opus will have a very tough time winning over converts.