Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Certified: PG
Duration: 150 minutes
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, María Valverde, Indira Varma, Hiam Abbass, Kevork Malikyan, Anton Alexander, Golshifteh Farahani, Tara Fitzgerald, Dar Salim
KRS Releasing Ltd

Exodus is set in 1300BC, at a time when the Hebrews had been slaves to the Egyptians for 400 years.

The Egyptians are led by Pharaoh Seti (John Turturro), who is building a huge, magnificent city. The military might is increasing as Seti’s son Ramses (Joel Edgerton) and his best general Moses (Christian Bale) lead the Egyptians from one victory to another.

Seti’s desire is for Moses to be the one who inherits the throne and he makes this preference clear, but this cannot be as Moses is adopted. When Ramses takes the throne and he is told by the viceroy, Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), that Moses is actually Hebrew, this confuses him.

Moses had already heard about this blood lineage issue from Nun (Ben Kingsley), a Hebrew leader. In a conflict between the two friends, Ramses ends up banishing Moses from Egypt, while his mother Tuya (Sigourney Weaver) actually wants Moses dead.

In the desert Moses joins a tribe and meets his wife Sephora (Maria Valverde). He is happy here, cut off from the affairs of Egypt. A son is born and there is peace in his life. When he goes on the forbidden mountain, he sees a burning bush and from the resulting apparition he receives instructions to go to Egypt and save his people.

It takes some time, but when Moses accepts the fact God is talking to him, he returns to Egypt and calls on the Pharaoh to liberate the Hebrews. When Ramses refuses, Moses informs him that Egypt will suffer terrible consequences which will lead to the two clashing even further.

Director Ridley Scott has delivered a film that is vastly different from this year’s other biblical epic Noah. The emphasis here is not on reinterpretation or an analysis of the biblical text but rather a representation of the biblical epic in all its Hollywood-style glory.

The result is a film that fans of the classic The Ten Commandments (1956) will find a lot to like, as this is delivered in the same vein. For the younger generations, the main attraction is the big-screen spectacle at which the film excels so strongly.

Scott manages to skirt over any sign of controversy in the film’s content as he delivers a film whose main theme is that of justice: a universal theme that crosses over any religious boundary.

The film’s main emphasis is on the plagues, the battle scenes and the crescendo that leads towards the final chariot race sequence. This focus on action and eye candy lets Scott get away with a lot of things, but he makes sure his audience leaves the cinema rightly awed and satisfied.

The cast delivers acting turnouts that have scope and energy to spare. Kingsley is, as usual, charismatic; Edgerton makes for a very strong villain; while Bale as Moses starts off unsurely but by the end of the picture he is firmly ensconced in the role.

The resulting film brings together old-style Hollywood film-making with brash and in-your-face special effects to deliver a modern movie-style visualextravaganza.

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