EXODUS: Gods And Kings – First Impressions

I was a fan of the recent movie NOAH, which may eliminate me from your list of people you trust to recommend movies.

I tend to agree with Stephen D. Greydanus when he writes:

Many of the best cinematic treatments of religious themes come from filmmakers who are nonbelievers, agnostics, even atheists.

Because I was a fan of the movie NOAH, I was excited to hear that Ridley Scott was directing Exodus: Gods and Kings, a new movie about Moses.

I had the chance to go to a preview of the movie a couple weeks ago. It was only eight scenes, about forty minutes, but it gave me a feel for what is to come.

Some first impressions:

1. 3D Is Worth It: I’m on a tight budget so I don’t usually shell out the extra bucks to see movies in 3D. But I will definitely see this movie in 3D. Just the plagues by themselves will be worth the money. It felt like I was there. It was gross, it was overwhelming, and it was fantastic.

2. Ramses is Well Cast: Joel Edgerton is well cast as Ramses. He captures the pouting, simpering Ramses that most of us imagine.

3. No Annoying Love Triangle: It’s hard to top the epic film The Ten Commandments but one thing I’m glad to see gone is the love triangle between Ramses, Nefretiri and Moses. I always thought that was unnecessary and distracting. Plus, Moses had a wife, Tsipporah, and I am glad to see that she seems to play a pretty big role in this movie.

4. Moses’ Character Development (or Lack of it) Is Concerning: I have to say that I was feeling a little hesitant about the choice of Christian Bale for the role of Moses, who was “very humble, more than anyone else on earth” (Nm 12:3). And after seeing the previews I still am. There is one scene in particular that made me wonder if his character development is going to be satisfactory. It is after God appears to Moses in the burning bush. Moses returns to Egypt, finds Ramses in the royal stables and puts a knife to his throat.

In the course of the conversation that follows Ramses asks him, “Who has been telling you this?”

“God” Moses growls, in a voice that is startlingly close to Batman’s.

I assume the character development of Moses is better than what I saw in a few disconnected scenes. I’m just hoping that Christian Bale doesn’t play a Moses who is a huffy vigilante with anger problems for the majority of the movie.

The synopsis on the movie’s web site doesn’t give me much hope though:

Using state of the art visual effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 400,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues. (emphasis mine)

I guess I’ll have to go and see!

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Despite my reservations, I definitely think Exodus: Gods and Kings is going to be worth going to and I look forward to seeing the entire film.

Here’s the trailer: