Exodus: Gods and Kings
16/01/15 Filed in: Cinema
We saw Exodus today. The reviews have been pretty awful and there's been a bit of a fuss over the casting white actors in the lead roles. Not a good start then!
I think I must be reasonably easily pleased as I didn't find it all that bad. I agree that the lead players didn't come over as very Egyptian, so perhaps some of the criticism is warranted. The story was sufficiently dynamic for me not to find the 154 minutes running time overly long, which can't be said for some films of that length. The special effects were, as you would expect, impressive. We've become so used to computer generated scenes now that they're no longer quite as awe inspiring, but the long list of computer design artists shown in the credits gives you some idea of the amount of work that goes into creating these simulations.
I must admit that my biblical knowledge is limited but I found it quite shocking how the Egyptians supposedly suffered at the hands of God. He seems to have lost that inclination nowadays as otherwise there would be quite a few people out there who might be feeling his wrath. Depicting God as a child was also an interesting take on things. Or was it just that Moses saw him as a child because of his longing for his own son?
I think I must be reasonably easily pleased as I didn't find it all that bad. I agree that the lead players didn't come over as very Egyptian, so perhaps some of the criticism is warranted. The story was sufficiently dynamic for me not to find the 154 minutes running time overly long, which can't be said for some films of that length. The special effects were, as you would expect, impressive. We've become so used to computer generated scenes now that they're no longer quite as awe inspiring, but the long list of computer design artists shown in the credits gives you some idea of the amount of work that goes into creating these simulations.
I must admit that my biblical knowledge is limited but I found it quite shocking how the Egyptians supposedly suffered at the hands of God. He seems to have lost that inclination nowadays as otherwise there would be quite a few people out there who might be feeling his wrath. Depicting God as a child was also an interesting take on things. Or was it just that Moses saw him as a child because of his longing for his own son?
Ramses is portrayed as a bit of a waste of time. After becoming king he spends most his time building monuments to himself and in the process giving the slaves an even harder time than they had under his father. This of course eventually leads to God's displeasure and when Moses' attempt to get Ramses to agree to release of the slaves makes little headway, God himself takes things in hand with quite terrifying results.
As we know Moses eventually leads the 600,000 slaves out of Egypt. The escape from Ramses, who has decided to wipe them out after first agreeing to their freedom, involves the legendary parting of the Red Sea. I thought this was done quite convincingly. More a draining away than a parting, and as such perhaps a bit more believable, although the coming together again was anything but gentle.
Is it worth seeing? Perhaps this type of epic has had its day in modern cinema but it's a good story, well presented. We saw it in 3D, which is probably worthwhile given the immensity of some of the effects. It's certainly a film that needs to be seen on the big screen.
As we know Moses eventually leads the 600,000 slaves out of Egypt. The escape from Ramses, who has decided to wipe them out after first agreeing to their freedom, involves the legendary parting of the Red Sea. I thought this was done quite convincingly. More a draining away than a parting, and as such perhaps a bit more believable, although the coming together again was anything but gentle.
Is it worth seeing? Perhaps this type of epic has had its day in modern cinema but it's a good story, well presented. We saw it in 3D, which is probably worthwhile given the immensity of some of the effects. It's certainly a film that needs to be seen on the big screen.