Exodus: Gods and Kings

The impressive performances and breath taking visuals are certainly the highlights of director Ridley Scot’s epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings. The theme of Moses saving his people from Egyptians is something which is quite elaborate and the only problem with the film is in its story telling which couldn’t achieve the risky task of showing the depth of the situation.

The movie starts off with the attack of the Egyptian army against the Hittite army. In the following days Moses goes to Pithom where a lot of Hebrew slaves are working and finds out the truth behind his birth. And when Ramesses got to know about this, he sends Moses to exile and during that phase the communication between God and Moses happen, which made him go back to Pithom to save his people. How it all happens is what the 150 minutes long movie all about.

The length of the movie and the vast story is what that makes Exodus slightly underwhelming. Some portions get covered in a hurry and I believe that takes away the character build up for Moses. And also there is a deliberate attempt to give more emphasis to the visually appealing portions of the tale like the ten plagues, the sea crossing etc. The amount of violence we see on screen kind of questions the character of Moses (Felt like too much). But still the visuals make a good impact on the viewers. You can actually feel the war field in the initial war sequence.

One thing I liked about the treatment was the way they showed the entire super natural phenomenon. The sea crossing looks like an unnatural change in the sea and it is less of a magical act. As I mentioned already Mr. Scott has given more importance to visuals and the along with the VFX team he has created that old Egypt very beautifully. Screenplay is plain with no layers to impress us. Few impressive dialogues. Good visuals and nice edits.

From the smart young general to the mature and old leader, Christian Bale did the role of Moses superbly. As always the actor was pretty good with his body language. Joel Edgerton was good as Ramesses. Rest of the cast comprising of Ben Kingsley, Aaron Paul, John Turturro and many more did their roles nicely. A special mention to Issac Andrews, the little guy who did the role of Malak.

Overall Exodus: Gods and Kings lacks an emotional depth. With its rich and realistic visuals, the movie will surely grab your attention and curiosity. The rating is 3/5 director Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings.