2014 has not exactly been kind to bible adaptations. When anything from the bible is adapted to film (take Darren Aronovsky's Noah for example) there is always going to be a cloud of controversy surrounding it with regards to accuracy and respect for the religion. With it's recent ban from Egyptian cinemas, Ridley Scott's Exodus: God's and Kings is surrounded by such a cloud. With that said, I am not a devout Christian nor am I 100% knowledgeable in the Exodus text but as a film, how does Ridley Scott's epic Egytian tale of despair, faith and a friendship's collapse compare to other epics?
The film starts with some basic text setting the scene for 400+ years of the slavery of Hebrews in Egypt then immediately jumps to a fairly unclear conversation between Moses (played by Christian Bale), Ramesses (played by Joel Edgerton) and his father the Pharaoh regarding the invasion of an army. This conversation also quickly brings up a prophecy that the saviour of Egypt's leader will he himself become the leader. After Moses saves Ramesses during the following battle regarding said army, Ramesses considers killing Moses out of fear that he may take his place. This is unusual because Ramesses is not yet the ruler of Egypt in the story so it makes little sense.
Exodus: God and Kings is full of below average dialogue and very poor character development, with no one in the starry supporting cast making that much of an effort at all. No one is making any effort with their accents, and there are a few too many different ones for one small group of Egyptians; Bale has his English/Welsh mixture, Edgerton has made the effort with his strange but well handled English accent. With Sigourney Weaver sticking to her American accent, the willingness to take it seriously does drop whenever she speaks. Some of more obvious attempts at comedic characters just come across as annoying and needless, with one guy having a half Scottish half English accent, speaking quickly at a relatively high pitch. This character is memorable only for his irritation factor.
The supporting cast who should be oscar worthy are little more than pointless cameos; Weaver has little to no lines and you can tell she can not be bothered with any of it. Neither is Ben Kingsley, who seems to just be there to spout exposition when needed. Aaron Paul's Joshua is rarely given any time in the film to shine, and he is given multiple potential plot threads regarding Moses which are all abandoned; this is a shame as Paul seems to be the only cast member besides Christian Bale that actually makes a real effort, and this is all told through his very subtle, well chosen facial expressions.
While Scott's direction and cinematography has certainly been worse, there doesn't seem to be any substance to it. It comes across as more of an appetiser for the eye, but nothing more. Scenes that should be emotional high points are rushed immensely, with Moses' meeting his forgettable love interest and then within 3 or 4 mins of film time has flown passed and they are getting married. Another plot thread regarding Moses' mysterious family is addressed, given one tense-ish moment and then is not addressed for the rest of the film. There is so much dead weight left hanging in this movie that it is hard to find anything redeeming outside of Bale's decent leading performance.
The primary cause for a lot of the controversy is Scott's addressing of races in this film. I would agree that it is far to reliant on Caucasian actors to fill the lead roles. The only one of these actors they make up to look Egyptian is Joel Edgerton's Ramasses, who is course the villain. There are multiracial slaves as well, where the royals and lords are all Caucasian. This is a very touchy subject in today's world and should have been handled a lot more subtly than Scott has done.
If there are any redeeming qualities about this film, I can name two: The first and foremost positive is the depiction of the 7 plagues. These scenes are so visceral and terrible that you really do question why anyone would wish this upon anyone else. The visuals are horrific in the best possible way, with the plague's highlight by the final horror; the murder of Egytian first-born sons. Those who have not protected their homes from the plague suffer through the only part of this movie where you find your heart in your throat. As the sun sets on the city, the use of audio is expertly done with the sound of the children's breathing filling the cinema, however when the darkness of night touches them the sound fades away to nothing immediately. It is the ultimate nightmare and the plagues are certainly the standout scene.
The other main positive is this film's depiction of God, which I will not give away. It is unexpected, the actor playing this mighty role gives a unique, vengeful, unsettling yet ultimately memorable performance of the Creator.
Overall this film was a big disappointment. The storytelling was poor, the acting from all (minus a few) was either overdone to the point of bad comedy or unconvincing to the point of groaning. Plot-points that had potential were either abandoned or rushed, with crumby dialogue to guide it. Some blatantly impossible physical acts can be survived in cinema but an incident during the infamous 'parting of the red sea' scene between Ramesses and Moses is literally impossible, and no amount of religious faith would get you through it, yet they both brush it aside somehow and this was a serious irritation. Scott's direction was average and the only saving graces were the plagues which would convince any Pharaoh to release his people, and a portrayal of God that truly convinces you that the Creator is capable of such horrific acts. Overall as a bible adaptation and just as a film, I would definitely not recommend.
The film starts with some basic text setting the scene for 400+ years of the slavery of Hebrews in Egypt then immediately jumps to a fairly unclear conversation between Moses (played by Christian Bale), Ramesses (played by Joel Edgerton) and his father the Pharaoh regarding the invasion of an army. This conversation also quickly brings up a prophecy that the saviour of Egypt's leader will he himself become the leader. After Moses saves Ramesses during the following battle regarding said army, Ramesses considers killing Moses out of fear that he may take his place. This is unusual because Ramesses is not yet the ruler of Egypt in the story so it makes little sense.
Exodus: God and Kings is full of below average dialogue and very poor character development, with no one in the starry supporting cast making that much of an effort at all. No one is making any effort with their accents, and there are a few too many different ones for one small group of Egyptians; Bale has his English/Welsh mixture, Edgerton has made the effort with his strange but well handled English accent. With Sigourney Weaver sticking to her American accent, the willingness to take it seriously does drop whenever she speaks. Some of more obvious attempts at comedic characters just come across as annoying and needless, with one guy having a half Scottish half English accent, speaking quickly at a relatively high pitch. This character is memorable only for his irritation factor.
The supporting cast who should be oscar worthy are little more than pointless cameos; Weaver has little to no lines and you can tell she can not be bothered with any of it. Neither is Ben Kingsley, who seems to just be there to spout exposition when needed. Aaron Paul's Joshua is rarely given any time in the film to shine, and he is given multiple potential plot threads regarding Moses which are all abandoned; this is a shame as Paul seems to be the only cast member besides Christian Bale that actually makes a real effort, and this is all told through his very subtle, well chosen facial expressions.
While Scott's direction and cinematography has certainly been worse, there doesn't seem to be any substance to it. It comes across as more of an appetiser for the eye, but nothing more. Scenes that should be emotional high points are rushed immensely, with Moses' meeting his forgettable love interest and then within 3 or 4 mins of film time has flown passed and they are getting married. Another plot thread regarding Moses' mysterious family is addressed, given one tense-ish moment and then is not addressed for the rest of the film. There is so much dead weight left hanging in this movie that it is hard to find anything redeeming outside of Bale's decent leading performance.
The primary cause for a lot of the controversy is Scott's addressing of races in this film. I would agree that it is far to reliant on Caucasian actors to fill the lead roles. The only one of these actors they make up to look Egyptian is Joel Edgerton's Ramasses, who is course the villain. There are multiracial slaves as well, where the royals and lords are all Caucasian. This is a very touchy subject in today's world and should have been handled a lot more subtly than Scott has done.
If there are any redeeming qualities about this film, I can name two: The first and foremost positive is the depiction of the 7 plagues. These scenes are so visceral and terrible that you really do question why anyone would wish this upon anyone else. The visuals are horrific in the best possible way, with the plague's highlight by the final horror; the murder of Egytian first-born sons. Those who have not protected their homes from the plague suffer through the only part of this movie where you find your heart in your throat. As the sun sets on the city, the use of audio is expertly done with the sound of the children's breathing filling the cinema, however when the darkness of night touches them the sound fades away to nothing immediately. It is the ultimate nightmare and the plagues are certainly the standout scene.
The other main positive is this film's depiction of God, which I will not give away. It is unexpected, the actor playing this mighty role gives a unique, vengeful, unsettling yet ultimately memorable performance of the Creator.
Overall this film was a big disappointment. The storytelling was poor, the acting from all (minus a few) was either overdone to the point of bad comedy or unconvincing to the point of groaning. Plot-points that had potential were either abandoned or rushed, with crumby dialogue to guide it. Some blatantly impossible physical acts can be survived in cinema but an incident during the infamous 'parting of the red sea' scene between Ramesses and Moses is literally impossible, and no amount of religious faith would get you through it, yet they both brush it aside somehow and this was a serious irritation. Scott's direction was average and the only saving graces were the plagues which would convince any Pharaoh to release his people, and a portrayal of God that truly convinces you that the Creator is capable of such horrific acts. Overall as a bible adaptation and just as a film, I would definitely not recommend.