Yahoo Movies 'Exodus' Review Roundup: A Plague of Disappointed Critics
Prolific filmmaker Ridley Scott’s latest film, an Old Testament epic about Moses leading the Jews out of slavery from their Egyptian masters, has elicited an unholy reaction from critics.
Exodus: Gods and Kings has been the subject of controversy even before it was completed, thanks to the overwhelmingly caucasian cast hired to tell the story of two Middle Eastern peoples. Christian Bale plays Moses, the leader of the Hebrews, while Joel Edgerton plays the Pharaoh Ramses. Both are white, though Edgerton was given a very unnatural yellow tan to distinguish him as an Egyptian.
The reviews of the film, however, have little to do with the casting snafu. Instead, critics have zeroed in on the film’s size, with Scott accused of making a movie so big that the characters, despite their historical significance and universal name recognition, get lost in the action.
Related: ‘Exodus’ Exclusive Clip: Christian Bale Goes Old Testament on Pharaoh
The film — which opens in theaters today — currently has a 25 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Here is a selection of the more prominent reviews, with a positive one from Entertainment Weekly added for good measure:
A.O. Scott, New York Times: “Exodus is ludicrous only by accident, which isn’t much fun and is the surest sign of what we might call a New Testament sensibility at work. But the movie isn’t successfully serious, either. Not for the first time, Mr. Scott confuses excessive scale with authentic grandeur, and while some of the battle scenes have a rousing, kinetic sweep, there are far too many slow aerial surveys of Memphis, the Egyptian capital, a city bristling with columns and other priapic monuments.”
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: ”The rocky relationship between Moses and Ramses, which was well played by Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner in the 1956 version, comes off as more of a tiff between brothers than a rivalry that will change the world forever. Bale is miscast here — he doesn’t have the gravity or presence to play Moses — and he has a tendency to mangle the script’s often creaky dialogue. Edgerton fares worse; he’s apparently more concerned with how he looks than with giving Ramses inner fire and rage. Scott is too busy with the style and look of the picture, which was shot by the great Dariusz Wolski, to pay much attention to the psychology of his characters.”
Related: Rupert Murdoch Defends White ‘Exodus’ Cast and Stirs Twitter Backlash
Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: ”Among the movie’s myriad problems is its lack of character development. There are passing attempts at humanizing larger-than-life characters, as we see Ramses with his infant son and Moses saying sweet things to his wife. But there’s a much greater emphasis on battles and apocalyptic images than on personal stories. In place of meaningful dialogue, we get a lot of God’s retaliation: the bloody Nile (in this case due to vicious crocodiles), maggots, flies, people covered in boils and livestock spewing blood before falling dead. That’s to say nothing of the storms with earth-swallowing tornadoes, hail and lightning. The scenes may have been inspired by the sensationalists at the Weather Channel.”
Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: ”Is it possible to sit through a movie, mentally cataloging its absurdities, and still walk out dazzled? Because that pretty much sums up my experience watching Ridley Scott’s eye-candy spectacle Exodus: Gods and Kings, an over-the-top Old Testament epic that’s essentially Gladiator with God… Before you’re able to get too distracted by Exodus’ flaws, Scott reaches back into his bag of pixie dust and whips up another grand illusion.”
Stephen Witty, The Star Ledger: “Moses, meanwhile, is cast — not as the tongue-tied messenger of scripture — but as a revolutionary, who leads Jewish slaves in acts of civilian sabotage and terrorism. Scott often seems to think he has Big Thoughts, but drawing a line from Moses to Hamas is not one of them. He’s better, as he always is, at images. Computer-generated or not, his visualization of ancient Egypt - with its impassive necropolis and teaming slums — is breathtaking. There are several exciting scenes with racing chariots and — unlike the upcoming Hobbit finale — his sword fights are gripping and clearly staged.”
Watch the trailer for Exodus: Gods and Kings below:
