Exodus: Gods and Kings

Of late, we have seen a plethora of biblically based films: "Son of Man", "Noah", "God's Not Dead", "Left Behind" and others. I'm not sure why all the interest in these types of films, except that it might be reflective of our problematic society: finances, crime, diseases out of control. Sometimes through our intense lives, something that's conveyed in a compassionate way to relieve us of our problems is just what the doctor ordered. With this, we have "Exodus: Gods and Kings" in the offing to turn to so as to cause us to think more about our lives.


The year is 1300 BCE. This epic adventure is the story of one man's daring courage to take on the might of an empire. This tells the story of the defiant, passionate leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he eventually rises up against the Egyptian Pharoah Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 600,000 Hebrew slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues-- frogs, blood, flies, locusts, hail.
To know how these men were at such odds with each other, one must go back into the past. You see, Moses was raised, as an infant, by Seti (John Turturro), along with Ramses, so they grew up as 'brothers'--depending on one another. Moses inadvertently meets Nun (Ben Kingsley) who tells Moses that a prophesy was made calling Moses the subsequent leader of the Jews to bring those out of slavery from the Egyptians. This perplexes Moses to the point where he starts to question where he actually came from, lineage-wise. This confrontation with Ramses simply fanned the fire and they soon were at odds with each other to a disastrous end.

Others to round out the cast are Aaron Paul as Joshua, Ben Mendelsohn as Viceroy Hegep, Maria Valverde as Zipporah, Sigourney Weaver as Tuya, Hiam Abbass as Bithia, Isaac Andrews as Malak, Ewen Bremner as Expert, Indira Varma as High Priestess and Tara Fitzgerald as Miriam.

This was effortlessly directed by Ridley Scott ("Alien" '79, "Blade Runner" '82, "Thelma & Louise" '91, "White Squall" '96, "Gladiator" 2000, "Black Hawk Down" '01, Matchstick Men" '03, "American Gangster" '07, "Body of Lies" '08, "Prometheus" '12, "The Counselor" '13) plus others. Like the old adage states: 'practice makes perfect', this guy has directed so many films that you know you're going to be faced with consummate talent and artistry. The emotion that his actors exude is so realistic and effective, that it almost looks like the actors aren't acting. It was equally well written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine and Steven Zailian. Considering the huge number of writers on this, it should have been incredibly convoluted-- too many hands in the pot, but it was actually crafted together in a comprehensive way. Mind you, there were some choppy areas, but all in all, a solid script. Also, the visual effects ,predominantly created by MPC (Moving Picture Company), Double Negative and Method Studios, were cleverly intertwined within the story by Scott, so the actors, story with the visuals worked effortlessly with each other, not to mention that the visuals were seamless, to boot.

This epic film is one that must be seen on the large screen, lest it gets lost in anything else smaller. You will be pulled into this incredible story of adventure, loss, redemption and bravery all in a very effective 3D format for all to enjoy.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: PG-13                                    150mins.