Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Country: GB/SP/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 150m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, María Valverde, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley
Synopsis:
As the Pharoah contemplates his succession, Moses begins his journey from respected General to politician to freedom fighter for his true people.
Review:
In updating De Mille's Ten Commandments, Scott scores a bullseye on most of the essentials, with spectacle certainly having the upper hand over character: one could not think of a better visualisation of the plagues than here.Bbut the decision to cast God as a petulant child is perhaps too close to the truth for comfort! Bale mumbles half his lines, Kingsley and Weaver have absolutely nothing to do, and as usual it is the baddies who provide the chief moments of dramatic interest. Still, there is nothing to resonate in quite the same way as 'So let it be written, so let it be done!', and the perfunctory ending, with a suddenly wizened Moses driving the Arc of the Covenant forward towards Canaan, feels like they ran out of money. Which they probably did. And why have both Moses and Ramses buried under the Red Sea, only to have them survive? Did no one else learn to swim?
Country: GB/SP/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 150m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, María Valverde, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley
Synopsis:
As the Pharoah contemplates his succession, Moses begins his journey from respected General to politician to freedom fighter for his true people.
Review:
In updating De Mille's Ten Commandments, Scott scores a bullseye on most of the essentials, with spectacle certainly having the upper hand over character: one could not think of a better visualisation of the plagues than here.Bbut the decision to cast God as a petulant child is perhaps too close to the truth for comfort! Bale mumbles half his lines, Kingsley and Weaver have absolutely nothing to do, and as usual it is the baddies who provide the chief moments of dramatic interest. Still, there is nothing to resonate in quite the same way as 'So let it be written, so let it be done!', and the perfunctory ending, with a suddenly wizened Moses driving the Arc of the Covenant forward towards Canaan, feels like they ran out of money. Which they probably did. And why have both Moses and Ramses buried under the Red Sea, only to have them survive? Did no one else learn to swim?
Country: GB/SP/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 150m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, María Valverde, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley
Synopsis:
As the Pharoah contemplates his succession, Moses begins his journey from respected General to politician to freedom fighter for his true people.
Review:
In updating De Mille's Ten Commandments, Scott scores a bullseye on most of the essentials, with spectacle certainly having the upper hand over character: one could not think of a better visualisation of the plagues than here.Bbut the decision to cast God as a petulant child is perhaps too close to the truth for comfort! Bale mumbles half his lines, Kingsley and Weaver have absolutely nothing to do, and as usual it is the baddies who provide the chief moments of dramatic interest. Still, there is nothing to resonate in quite the same way as 'So let it be written, so let it be done!', and the perfunctory ending, with a suddenly wizened Moses driving the Arc of the Covenant forward towards Canaan, feels like they ran out of money. Which they probably did. And why have both Moses and Ramses buried under the Red Sea, only to have them survive? Did no one else learn to swim?