Ridley Scott's take on the story of Moses is suitably epic and it would be hard to compare it to his last two movies. But if we go back and look at other historical epics he's done, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, we know there's precedent for him to be better.
Exodus tells the story of Moses (Christian Bale) and how he gathered the Hebrews to escape the Egyptians. We see his exile from Egypt by the Pharaoh Ramesses II (Joel Edgerton), the plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. Depending on your background, this is probably a familiar tale and will be easy to follow, even guess what is going to happen next.
As stated above, Scott is fairly adept at making an epic film and this movie certainly does tick all the boxes. While it doesn't necessarily push the envelope in the storytelling department, it makes up for it with some amazing visuals and action set pieces. The sets of Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt are amazing and are backed up with some wonderful CGI images of the pyramids under construction. The deserts of Spain make a fantastic substitute for Egypt and match all the rocky crags that one might imagine from biblical myths. There are some amazing battles scattered throughout that display the amazing numbers that the armies of the time would have had.
In terms of acting, this really is a two-horse show for both Bale and Edgerton. Their performances aren't great, but that has to do with limited character development and that's alarming given the amount of supporting characters in the film. The stars playing the minor characters (Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro and Sir Ben Kingsley) are all given remarkably little to do but display a seemingly talented backdrop. The only person who I thought tried with his character a little was Ben Mendelsohn, who plays a slightly effete Egyptian viceroy.
Verdict: An overall good and suitably epic tale, but doesn't push the boundaries or throw you anything that you wouldn't have expected.
In terms of acting, this really is a two-horse show for both Bale and Edgerton. Their performances aren't great, but that has to do with limited character development and that's alarming given the amount of supporting characters in the film. The stars playing the minor characters (Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro and Sir Ben Kingsley) are all given remarkably little to do but display a seemingly talented backdrop. The only person who I thought tried with his character a little was Ben Mendelsohn, who plays a slightly effete Egyptian viceroy.
Verdict: An overall good and suitably epic tale, but doesn't push the boundaries or throw you anything that you wouldn't have expected.
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