Just as DeMille's fleshing out of the story is not above satire, though (witness Billy Crystal's hilarious channeling of Edward G. Robinson's Dathan), so Scott's tale is not without its promising aspects. Chief among them, for viewers of faith, is the conversion story his film introduces into the life of Moses (Christian Bale). Here, the patriarch's series of trials and triumphs takes him from religious skeptic to true believer.
Raised as a foster son to Egypt's Pharaoh, Seti (John Turturro), and adoptive brother of Seti's heir, Ramses (Joel Edgerton), Moses is sent into exile when Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), a corrupt official whose wrongdoing he has uncovered, reveals his lowly origin as the child of a Hebrew slave.
Working as a shepherd in Midian, Moses finds solace in married life (Maria Valverde plays his loyal, devout spouse Zipporah). But his contentment is once again disturbed when God -- oddly personified by an 11-year-old boy (Isaac Andrews) -- calls on him to lead his enslaved compatriots to freedom.
While Scott's picture has computer-generated effects to spare, especially in the plague scenes, its human interaction is stilted and uninvolving. Thus Moses' potentially intriguing spiritual development is only sketched out in the dialogue, and lacks the heft that might propel the audience along on its trajectory.
Additionally, the collaborative script -- penned by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine and Steven Zaillian -- is skittish where miracles are concerned and revisionist in its treatment of the relationship between Moses and the Almighty.
Granted, the Moses of the Bible sometimes plays the role of advocate for the Israelites, pleading with God to spare his wayward people. But it's nonetheless perplexing to find Scott's main character frequently coming across as more merciful than the petulant lad who embodies his vision of the Divinity.
Though it ends with the giving of the Commandments on Mount Sinai, at an intimidating running time of over two-and-a-half hours, "Exodus: Gods and Kings" may strike many as recalling more directly the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness by which the fidelity of the Hebrews was thereafter put to the test.
The film contains considerable combat and other violence with some gore, religious themes requiring mature discernment as well as restrained sexual content, including a gay innuendo and two marital bedroom scenes. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.
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CAPSULE REVIEW
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" (Fox)
Big but boring, director Ridley Scott's epic 3-D take on the biblical event of the title is skittish where miracles are concerned and revisionist in its treatment of the relationship between Moses (Christian Bale) and the Almighty. Raised as a foster son to Egypt's Pharaoh (John Turturro) and adoptive brother of the heir to the throne (Joel Edgerton), the future patriarch is sent into exile when a corrupt official (Ben Mendelsohn) whose wrongdoing he has uncovered reveals his lowly origin as the child of a Hebrew slave. Working as a shepherd, he finds solace in married life (with Maria Valverde) until his contentment is once again disturbed when God -- oddly personified by an 11-year-old boy (Isaac Andrews) -- calls on him to lead his enslaved compatriots to freedom. While Scott's film has computer-generated effects to spare, especially in the plague scenes, its human interaction is stilted and uninvolving. Considerable combat and other violence with some gore, religious themes requiring mature discernment, restrained sexual content, including a gay innuendo and two marital bedroom scenes. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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CLASSIFICATION
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" (Fox) -- Catholic News Service classification, A-III -- adults. Motion Picture Association of America rating, PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
