Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

According to some people Ridley Scott has lost the magic he once had. The director who made his name with movies like Alien, Blade Runner and also created Gladiator would not be able to make movies with the same quality anymore. For many Prometheus wasn’t the return to the Alien univers they wanted and The Counselor was basically destroyed by the critics. Exodus: Gods and Kings is Scott’s latest movie and is the second bible story in a short time to receive the movie treatment after Noah. Exodus is about the story of Moses.

For those familiar with the bible or Quran, the story is well-known. Moses (Christian Bale) is found as a baby and raised by the sister of pharaoh Seti (John Turturro). He sees Ramses (Joel Edgerton) as his brother. The two are close, but when Moses finds out about his origins it results in a big change in him and his relationship. He wants to free his people and take them to the promised land. Before he can do this however, het need the approval of Ramses.

Scott manages to bring the old Egypt to life in an impressive way. Although much of the imagery is computer generated, he also uses a big number of extras and horses, giving you the feeling that you aren’t just watching “digital puppets”. It makes the world the movie is set in that more convincing. Darren Aronofsky made the decision when creating Noah to add many fantasy elements, resulting in a movie that reminded many of Lord of the Rings. It was something a large part of the audience wasn’t able to appreciate.

Ridley Scott has chosen to stay close to the original story and explain everything that happens more in a naturalistic way. The result is in een story which feels like a more realistic adaptation of the story. Many reviews didn’t like this, but it roots the movie in reality and doesn’t tell the story in the way other movies about the subject normally do. This means that the huge spectacle people expect isn’t there. The biggest example of this is the parting of the red sea. Here it dries up instead, but still Scott brings breath taking imagery to the screen. Both Edgerton (who regularly reminded me of Kurt Russell) and Bale are good in their roles. If there is one thing which could have been better than it had more depth to its characters. Against the backdrop of the biblical story that can be forgiven though. With Exodus Scott shows that he still got that magic and shows he is able to make movies which impress.