Exodus: Gods and Kings
Hey, folks! Welcome back to another exciting Casual Friday. Coming out from the drought from last week, we have some film reviews up for you today that are opening this weekend . First up is Exodus: Gods and Kings, starring Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, and more.
First things first. The biggest controversy that is surrounding this film is the fact that it is void of non-white actors filling it’s starring roles. When you make a film of this proportion, you want to see the characters look as close as they can to the inhabitants of the nation they represent. This was not the case in Exodus. The explanation given to us by the producers was that in order to get the budget they wanted they needed to cast famous (white) actors. My only problem is that it works when it’s the main roles, namely Moses and Rameses but the other characters (e.g. Seti, Tuya, Miriam, Aaron, and Pharaoh’s advisors) could have been cast differently. It’s a pretty in-your-face disparaging fact that brings you out of the film. It’s as if they went out of they’re way to place actors of color in subservient roles. It pulls you completely out of the film and message they wanted to showcase here. A major gripe for me in this film was the casting of Sigourney Weaver as the queen of Egypt. She seemed so out-of-place in the film. Her role of all the actors cast felt the most forced.
The biblical accuracy of this flick also left a lot to be desired. The character of Moses was changed so much from the original story, that it changed the message entirely, in my opinion. The movie itself made Moses’ character to be more prideful if anything; a rash and violent individual that needed to be humbled and broken. Although, I do like his characters development, if you’re trying to tell a biblically accurate story, which you should be if you take on a project like this, then you should showcase the character as he is, for that’s the story your trying to tell. Moses didn’t believe that he was capable of accomplishing God’s task for him. He doubted his ability as a leader. At one point he says to God, “since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” The movie makes a point of saying that God wanted a general to lead his people, but the power in the story of Moses was that he was a man who was brought down to the lowest point in his life, and wasn’t the definition of strength, but he was used to bring an end to Israel’s enslavement. The power behind this story is that God did all this using a man who appeared weak to himself. It’s a message that shows that even the smallest of us can be used to do great things. There are also subtle changes to the why and how of the story that make it harder to completely get behind. I’m a fan of both the Ten Commandments movie (Starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner) and Prince of Egypt. The grandness of the storytelling and effects made the story larger than life and the characters were illustrated in a very real way.
Even though the story was completely different then what was expected, I liked the journey of both Moses and Ramses from two prideful men to both being humbled by God. One man (Moses) embraces humility and uses that to be a leader to his people while the other (Ramses) is ultimately driven to rage through his humiliation. The lesson the movie teaches is one of the strength of humility. How leaders are at they’re best when they understand that they serve the people as oppose to oppress them.
The main thing you look to see in a movie about the Exodus is the grand scale of The Plagues. I have to say they did an excellent job on this and making good use of 3D. There were people flailing and jumping in the theater. So they were successful in making the effects look as real as possible. I love the relentlessness of it all. In the film, The plagues came one right after the other; one bringing about the next. The Plague of the firstborn was the most interesting of plagues. The way that it was executed was visual effects genius. comparing to the Ten Commandments, there was a silence to the death. In its absence of sound, it was eerie and held the weight of real hopelessness.
Some of the actors showcased some great performances in the film. I loved the way the voice of God is depicted in the representation of a child. The actor that illustrates this has some amazing exchanges with Moses in the film. There are some really great moments between the voice of God and Moses, that really make some interesting scenes in the film. Aaron Paul as Joshua was an interesting character as well. Even though he didn’t really have that much time in the story, when we are introduced to him he is being beaten by an Egyptian overseer. His face in this moment was so memorable in the fact that he was smiling. The overseer when asked by Moses why he is smiling responds by saying: “He says he does not feel pain” It’s the subtlety in the way that Paul showcases Joshua’s ferocity that is interesting to me because of what Joshua goes on to do from the Exodus. Paul does a great job at making you believe that this is a man capable of being used by God to lead Israel to fight their way to the promise land once they are there. What an actor can do in a limited amount of time is a testament to his ability and Paul does a great job of that.
Overall, however, the point that can’t be ignored is the message of the story is far from what is biblically accurate, and so the storyteller misses the point of the Exodus. Along with that and the overly excessive whitewashing of the film, there really isn’t a moment that allows audiences to actually appreciate the story that the movie then ends up trying to tell. People who want to see the movie for historical accuracy should pass this one over because they’ll be disappointed at the casting and the timing of events. People who want to see this movie for its biblical faithfulness to the character of Moses and the people of Israel should pass this one over because they will find a very different message here than what is in the Bible. I can’t even suggest to you to go see this film, because the redeeming parts of the film are still not enough to warrant spending $10+ for a ticket. The only way this would be worth it is to see it in 3D, and I can’t suggest that, because it’s still not worth seeing it for $13 a head. Let this one get aired on TV or wait for the Redbox, folks.