EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS MOVIE REVIEW
“I
am.” The name for which God calls himself is barely hinted in the movie EXODUS: GODS and KINGS. God’s wrath is mighty, but the how and why
seem to be absent from the film. The story of Moses and the Israelites is one
of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. Yet, the writers of the film took
great liberties changing things up. For instance, Moses wields a sword given to him
by Pharaoh rather than using the simple staff, whose use was directed by God.
This obviously led to the absence of the staff turning into a serpent, since
there was none. Aaron was also a part of God’s plan to aid Moses in dealing
with Pharaoh, yet he is barely noticeable in the film. The ten plagues were
quickly time elapsed, with barely a word spoken between Moses and Pharaoh. One
would wonder if Pharaoh even knew he was being told to “Let my people go.” In the book of Exodus, scripture says that Moses’s
wife and children traveled with him back to Egypt, yet this movie wife stayed
behind angry with God and her man. Passover was hardly explained as to why it
was necessary to put the blood over the doorposts.
In a good movie, an observer needs to
feel connected to the main characters. There was little to connect with in this
film. The Israelite's plight was more of an overview, with no real story to sink
your teeth into. People getting whipped, hung and working in the fields should
have tugged at the heart, but alas barely so. Although an awesome actor,
Christian Bale’s Moses is stifled, angry and questioning God. He seems to have
no faith in anything except his sword. Although the real Moses was reluctant to
be the deliverer of the Israelites, this movie version Moses is disrespectful
to God. But perhaps this can be explained by the small, sulky boy playing I AM.
In what should have been an epic scene, the
parting of the Red Sea was a bit confusing with the Israelites walking up to
the chests into the Red Sea, then suddenly walking in and out of watery areas. The
parting of the sea should have been a fascinating moment - one of triumph
revealing God’s almighty power, but again it seemed distorted and insignificant.
My review: What could have been a
fascinated film was stifled by poor dialogue and confusion. Most writers will embellish
a story a bit, but that wasn’t this film’s problem. It was lack of heart. Substance.
Faith.
Perhaps a narrator would have helped
the film’s cause.
Reviewed by: Tamera Lawrence, author
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