"God is with us!"
The story is a very loose adaptation of the account from the book of Exodus, chronicling Moses' exile from Egypt, his calling by God and his eventual leading of the Israelites out of Egypt.
The visual effects and cinematography are absolutely fantastic. The plagues are very realistic and are brilliantly-executed. With the exception of the plague of darkness (which its' effects are only briefly seen), each of the plagues are shown to the right extent. The sweeping camera views of Egypt and the mountains and deserts are brilliantly done as well. Finally, the scene where the Red Sea sweeps back over is nicely-done also.
The last hour of the movie is much more entertaining and wow-worthy thanks to the sweeping visual imagery. But the overall production design and costume design is also fantastic too. We get realistic portrayals of Egyptian villages as well as the palace and pyramids. The costumes and make-up really portray and respect the time period and characters very well, with elegant and interesting combinations of color.
The music score by Alberto Iglesias is decent. The acting is a relatively mixed bag. Christian Bale is a solid Moses, though his more confusion-inducing portrayal isn't extremely memorable. Joel Edgerton, someone I wouldn't have thought to play Ramses (the Pharaoh), actually does a good job here. With a shaved head and heavy make-up, he actually captures the mixed emotional aspects of the character well. The foreign, lesser-known actors, such as Maria Valverde as Tzipporah, may actually have given the best performances. As supporting characters, Ben Kingsley and John Turturro do solid work as Nun and Seti I, respectively. The one major actor under-utilized here is Sigourney Weaver, who is limited to just a few scenes and a few tepid lines as Zuya.
The major problem of this extravaganza is the unfortunate deviations from Scripture. But, unlike some (and I will talk about more of this in a minute), some of these deviations didn't come across as offensive to me. The most disappointing ones were the depictions of the first plague, the lack of Moses' staff, and a depiction of God's communication with Moses being in the form of a messenger being a child. It also would have been nice to see Moses as a baby floating down the river in the bulrushes-filled basket and watch him grow up. But, in this version, we start with a somewhat unnecessary battle with the Hittites instead.
Besides that, the screenplay and story are shaky, with little character development. Part of this has to do with the exclusion of some major elements from the actual book of Exodus. But I actually would have liked this more if they had explored more of the relationship between Moses and Ramses as they grew up (though to be fair, The Prince of Egypt also had this problem), and actually expanded the role of Moses' birthmother and sister to beyond just a brief cameo.
2014 has been such a great year for faith and Bible-based movies. From major successes such as Heaven is for Real, God's Not Dead and Son of God to the limited but noteworthy Mom's Night Out, Alone Yet Not Alone and the Left Behind remake. There was also a major controversial big-budget epic (Darren Aronofosky's Noah). Basically, a lot of news has circulated around movies about or at least related to....the Bible.
With Exodus, reception has been basically down the middle from all Christian sects. Some have really liked it, while some have given it a scathing (including from some I actually respect). But, honestly, what's with controversy and warnings to us viewers when you don't even know what you think of it for yourself? Shouldn't that at least make you curious to see exactly what's causing all the chatter? Now, please don't think I'm making an excuse for lewd content-filled films, because that's an entirely different argument (and I only make cases for content problems because it acts as advice for discerning parents for their families).
I went in to see Exodus with all these problems and deviations some Christian movie sites (and fellow Christians) have pointed out (not to leave out a few praises here and there too) in mind. But not because of the controversy, but because simply of interest in the overall movie. I thought it looked visually gorgeous and I was excited at the idea of a Bible story being adapted for the screen. Yes, it has an atheist director (Ridley Scott), so the fact that it arouses concern and agitation is a given.
But, considering the director and the fact that Hollywood is fully behind this, they could have done worse with this. Unlike some who have said God is blasphemed and treated in a negative light (mostly because He is portrayed here mostly by a "messenger" little boy), the God of Israel is shown to be more powerful than the Egyptian gods through His bringing of the Israelites to freedom. And with the main point of the story being followed, its obvious that God is the victor and the ultimate positive thing here rather than the clear depiction of evil (being the Egyptians and their spirituality, in which Moses somewhat humorously says in the beginning of the movie, "I don't understand it").
As for the portrayal of God himself, I was more confused and scratching my head rather than offended by this portrayal. But then again, what would you expect as a portrayal of God in a movie? Morgan Freeman in a white suit? Just a light with a regal-sounding voice? And even if those may seem more respectful, no one can ever picture God correctly. So, in a way, Scott's creative and somewhat distinct rendition of God and the supernatural is a lot less problematic than it sounds.
Of course, based on Scripture, I would have liked to have seen a little more of a merciful God (the one portrayed here talks of Moses as a "general" and talks of "wanting Egypt on its' knees"). But again, keep in mind that this is Hollywood, they are never going to get anything of the Christian faith completely right (remember the controversy of the Heaven scene in Heaven is for Real?).
One very good scene in the movie shows God correcting Moses for trying to create war with the Egyptians as revenge, and showing him that war simply isn't the answer. Its a nice reminder that war and violence are never always necessary in conflict and that sometimes faith is all that is necessary (though some might argue God's tactics to be too violent also [especially towards the Egyptians in the movie], but we also need to remember these acts are in Scripture and that even with every passing plague, the Egyptians kept excusing it for "coincidence" until the very end [culminating with the Pharaoh declaring himself to be "god"]).
There are other scattered deviations that I scratched my head on, such as the first plague (depicted quite disturbingly) being caused by crocodiles dragging humans into the water (and eating them) to turn the Nile into blood. The Red Sea is shown to be swept out of the Israelite's way rather than parted (and Moses went back out to meet Pharaoh and survived by being brought to shore). And some of Moses' violent actions make his character a lot more vigilante and rebel-like than what he is portrayed as in the Scriptures. In fact, many still complain of Moses and the Pharaoh being half-brothers (which obviously isn't explored in the Bible, but, it was used in The Prince of Egypt also).
Back to production quality, I already mentioned the great visual effects, cinematography, sets and costume design. And there are some genuinely thrilling action scenes (though the opening battle with the Hittites seemed unnecessary though, considering the story). But with quite a few elements missing here from the Exodus account (Moses' birth and what caused him to be in that basket are discussed but not shown [for example]), the overall story and character development get lost in the midst of all that visual grandeur. And the acting is, overall, only...OK.
That being said though, Exodus isn't half-bad and is actually sometimes interesting for a Hollywood adaptation of Scripture. And, remembering the advice from a reviewer at Christianitytoday.com, I'm all for a movie that might actually make curious, secular viewers to read the true Exodus account in the Bible.
But, in saying "not half-bad", knowing the story and characters well enough, I still found some deviations shown here to be confusing and disappointing. And some of these depictions, Biblical or not, are sometimes scary too.
Score: 5.7/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: None.
Adult Content: A brief kiss, and a gentle comment from wife-to-husband saying "proceed" before fading to black.
Violence: Some very intense violence. In a battle, many are killed in swordplay, though bloodshed is minimal. We do see a blade protrude through one Hittite for a split second, and we do see a little bit of blood on Moses' sword. A few other Egyptian soldiers are murdered outside of battle. In non-physical human violence, alligators drag people from boats and eat them (and also attack/eat each other), without showing anything gory (outside of blood filling up the Nile). Someone is run over with a cart. Moses is badly injured in a mudslide. Another landslide causes many Egyptians to fall to their deaths. And many are shown attacked by flies and have huge boils on their faces. Animals briefly spit up blood in a plague. A chicken is cut open (with a piece of it used to tell the future). Lambs are slaughtered (off-screen). And the last plague causes the Egyptians' firstborns to suddenly die.
Alcohol/Drugs: None (that I remember).
Other: I mentioned some theological problems earlier.
