On Exodus Gods and Kings

Last year saw Darren Aronofsky take the biblical story of Noah and turn it into a blockbuster, with loads of awkward CGI and an even more awkward explanation of the existence of god; the film never mentions the name, instead using rainbows, clear sky and raindrops to fill in the blank. This made the rest of Noah, faithful to the story, feel incongruous. It was saved only by an impressive Russell Crowe performance.

Ridley Scott’s second biblical epic, Exodus Gods and Kings, contains many great performances, especially Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton, whose intense and refreshingly modern performances, considering the setting, lifts the film above the material. This is especially necessary in the second half of the film when god, here played by a young boy and referenced as god, unleashes his plagues. While technically impressive, the plagues and the war of attrition that precedes it take attention away from the great script and acting that has developed the characters to that point. Although, some of the spectacles on show here are impressive and indicate that Scott is back on top form (thankfully, after the terrible double of Prometheus (2012) and last year’s The Counselor). The chariots racing through the mountains are incredible, with immersive camerawork and great use of CGI, which can be said of the whole film.

The first half of the film, which builds up to the plagues is gritty and takes this fantastical story and makes it feel organic. This is helped along by real settings and natural performances of, what are, extreme characters. It also isn’t afraid to show the horror that many of these biblical stories contain. Here, a harrowing scene of the death of Egypt’s first born is difficult to watch and emotional. Exodus is a nice combination of Scott’s earlier films Gladiator (2000) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005), both character driven pieces with impressive action sequences. Exodus may drop off in the middle before picking up at the end, but it’s always entertaining and the characters developed in the first hour and the performances of the actors are enough to carry you through the action and care about the consequences.