Movie Review - EXODUS: GODS & KINGS Release Date: 04/12/14 Rating: M Director(s): Ridley Scott Stars: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Mendelsohn, María Valverde, Isaac Andrews, Ben Kingsley & Aaron Paul Run Time: 150 min’s Score (out of 10): 5 Oh Ridley … no one’s disputing you’ve got that young pup Christopher Nolan’s measure when it comes to the sci-fi genre (Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus). However, you could definitely learn a thing or two from the way he took a well picked-over character like Batman & not only made the best version(s) yet; but also took it to a whole new level. A concept sadly not executed with Exodus: Gods & Kings. And whilst we’re being brutally honest Mr Scott … & I say this with the upmost respect - as far as the ‘historical action/drama’ genre goes, you kinda peaked with Gladiator. C’mon, we all know Kingdom of Heaven & Robin Hood would have made a suck-fest double feature!! And now E:G&K adds to the “Year of the Disappointing Bible Movie” that Noah launched back in March. Given the film is based on the 2nd book of The Bible’s Old Testament, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to preface the following plot synopsis with #SpoilerAlert. But just on the off chance, consider yourself alerted. E:G&K tells (once again) the story of Moses - from 20-something adopted brother of Rhamses (Edgerton) the next-in-line Pharaoh, to his abandoning Egypt to lead some 600,000 Hebrew slaves to freedom in the Promised Land. Along the way we not only witness Moses’ taking of a wife (Valverde), but also Rhamses’ mother (Weaver) rally for his execution when his Jewish heritage is revealed. There are also the 10 plagues that spare the Israelites but all-but bring Egypt to its knees, as well as the parting of The Red Sea; culminating in the writing (or more to the point chiselling) of the 10 Commandments under instruction from God - weirdly played by an 11y.o. boy (Andrews). There’s so much wrong with this flick beyond the aforementioned lack of ‘freshness’. Whilst I’m a massive fan of both Bale & Edgerton as actors, neither made me feel anything - a sizable fail for a film that’s supposed to be all about power & passion. Bale’s Moses yells a lot. But if there’s no underlying passion, it’s just yelling. And despite Edgerton’s uncanny likeness to Yul Brynner (who played Rhamses in 1954’s The Ten Commandments), he seemed about as menacing & camp as Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. Seriously, I kept waiting for him to “bring in the boreworms.” Andrews’ casting is massively problematic too - God as a petulant child?? No wonder Bale didn’t seem that inspired? And Weaver, Paul, Turturro & Kingsley are all sadly wasted. In fact of the major roles, only Spaniard Valverde & Aussie Mendelsohn can hold their heads high. But at the root of all this is the screenplay. Perhaps the 4 credited writers should have done another dozen or so drafts? On the plus side however, the best thing about this film is our own Ben Mendelsohn - his blend of menace & mince was bang on. And if his efforts in 2012’s Killing Them Softly didn’t make Hollywood stand up & take notice, then this definitely should!! The CGI is impressive - but really not that much better than Scott’s 14y.o. tour de force, Gladiator. Maybe he should have left this genre whilst at the top?
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 02:46:30 +0000
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