Ridley Scott's Exodus: To Watch, or Not To Watch?

When the opportunity to watch "Exodus: Gods and Kings" came around, I joyfully clicked on it. How could I lose out? We're talking Ridley here, man. Even if it turned out to be one of his duds, it'd still be worth watching. Now I'm wondering if I've been had.

The cast is like the more recent Scott movies - grab everyone who you've worked with before and mush them into parts that might suit them, even if the roles seem mismatched. Just do it! The special effects will drown out any clamor from the audience.

I wanted Christian Bale to succeed in this, I really did. He's one of my favorite actors - or at least, he used to be. I think I liked him better when he was acting for acting's sake instead of accepting parts that are "worth his talent", or up to his salary rate. He's doing his usual great work, but underneath it all there flows a stream of insincerity - a snobbish "I can act better than you, and am worth more than you," attitude that rubs me wrong. Oh, the wav of him screaming at the lighting tech on some set that keeps turning up on YouTube might have something to do with it. I can't seem to get that out of my mind. Maybe it was the Russel Crowe-like fights on the set, or maybe it's that ridiculous whispering tone-of-voice that's ticking me off. I can't figure it out. All of it points to him possibly being a great actor who has lost his way as he swims in money.

I also watched this movie because I love the story. I've read all the scientific explanations of why the plagues happened, and how, and chuckled at the sheer coincidence of all of it. I actually believe that the big G did have something to do with it. If not that, it must be an aliens from outer-space set up. It's just to big for one man to have accomplished on his own. Beyond all the explanations is a really cool story. Of course my favorite part (along with tons of other people) is the Holy Spirit, the last and final plague, slowly pouring over Egypt like a mysterious, deadly fog. Frankly in this version, it was just a digitally added shadow.  I like the Charlton Heston-version fog effect much better. Oh, well.

Ben Mendelsohn, exuding Sir Robert Stephens

In the muddle, before things get really exciting, several actors really stood out for me. One was Joel Edgerton, playing Ramses, and the other was Ben Mendelsohn, playing the Viceroy (the slave overseer). Both gave exceptional performances. For once in my life I actually shed a tear for Ramses at the death of his son. The only explanation is that Edgerton did such a great job that he got me right in the tissue-box. Mendelsohn was nearly as good. He oozed a slimy feel that was shocking. But what really got me was his chosen accent (I think he's Aussie). For half the movie I was staring at him, trying to figure out who he was. My first reaction was, "How like the late Sir Robert Stephens he sounds!" For the rest of the film I was convinced that he might be a relative. Upon researching him on IMDB, it appears that he was just doing a character; maybe innately he was imitating Stephens. I don't know, and I'm not sure. Perhaps some of you felt it, too? If so, give me a shout. I'd like to know what you thought of him.

The Miscast of Exodus

Lastly, I have to mark off the hilariously and possibly purposefully, mischievously, and outright stupidly miscast roles: Sigorney Weaver as Tuya: I think she was there just for window dressing. And the biggest and most glaringly weird: John Turturro as Seti. I giggled and I gaped as he delivered his lines. What was Scott thinking? Was this some sort of snub, or a tribute to the religious background of acting and production of films throughout history? Why, oh why wouldn't one attempt to find an actual Egyptian to play an Egyptian king...I can't go on writing about it because it screams of sarcastic jabs at Judaism in film making. It was too obvious. I think it was nearly in the first frames of the movie. When one is confronted by something like this from the very beginning, one has to wonder if Scott was intent upon cursing it.

All in all the effects were good, yes - really good - except for the final plague, which left me disappointed. The over-all acting (oh, one can't forget Ben Kingsley; what the heck?!) was acceptable, but the execution of more important biblical references was lacking. It's all fine and good to portray G as a shepherd boy, but to have Moses incapacitated in a puddle of mud and hit on the head with a rock is just wrong. I would have liked it better if they had maintained biblical accuracy. It almost rings of the brutish snobbery of the writer that borders on blasphemy: "I can write this better than G!" One can forgive the religious comedy of someone like Mel Brooks, but when it's Ridley Scott, it just doesn't taste good.