Exodus: gods and Kings

 

I had you going there for a second there, didn't I? You probably thought this was going to be the 'Age of Ultron' review. It's not.

I apologize. This isn't some twisted prank, it's just that I don't want to give you guys a half-baked review of a movie. I haven't had much time to dedicate to the pondering of the film, so I haven't been able to concoct a review.

That being said, I want to tell you guys about this neato movie I watched last night: 'Exodus: gods and Kings'. Some of you might have heard of this, or even seen it, but others most likely have not. 

If you read my post about Christian Movies, then you are already aware of my view on them. Yes, the movie is always different from the book. This holds true even for the Bible.

A lot of people gave this film a bad rap because of the "biblically incorrect" plot. I say 'poo' unto that. Pardon my potty mouth. 

In summary (I really hope you wouldn't have to read a summary about the story of Moses, but if you've been living under a rock since the dawn of time, continue reading.), 'Exodus: gods and Kings' is the story of Moses. 

Moses is a chill dude who hangs out with his homies in Egypt; living the easy life of battle and fortune. Then BAM! He finds out he's a Hebrew. He is then banished from Egypt and makes a life for himself in the land of Midian. 

Long story short, Moses is called by God (yes, the Big Man himself) to liberate the Israelite slaves from their captivity in Egypt. Moses does just that. And might I say, he does a pretty BA job of doing it. 

I'll admit, the first act of this movie was pretty weak. Not weak in story (that would be like insulting the Bible if I said it was weak in story), but weak in pacing and development. I assume that the film-makers knew that 90% (hopefully) of the population already knows the story of Moses. This explains the rushed first half and is understandable. 

What I really enjoyed about this film was how they portrayed the liberation of Egypt. Most iterations of this tend to be peaceful in nature. Well, when Batman is Moses (did I mention Christian Bale plays Moses?) you don't play peacefully. You fight. They do this and it makes me happy.

The Israelites don't wait around for God to help them out (which he does, mind you), they (initially, at least) take matters into their own hands. The slaves pretty much turn into a shadowy group of insurgents. Best. Ever. 

Another thing I absolutely loved was how the 7 plagues were depicted. The realism with which they are shown is remarkable. As I recall, I think to myself, "That's EXACTLY what it would've been like."

Even though the movie has its flaws with accurateness and little holes in the pacing, it did a fantastic job of portraying the exodus of the Israelites. 

Moral of the story, Batman makes a good Moses. 

Best,
-Ryan