EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS

However, I can’t write a review of this film without mentioning the controversy surrounding the casting. White actors play almost all the main parts, while people of colour play slaves and foreigners. Now that I’ve seen the film, it is possible that Scott is hoping to make some kind of statement or commentary about current society; or maybe it was just a matter of finance, as Scott said. Thankfully, Scott doesn’t insist any of his cast put on accents.

Production designer Arthur Max and costume designer Janty Yates have done brilliant work on ‘Exodus.’ The sets and costumes are lavish and full of detail. The computer-generated landscapes, particularly the Egyptian cities, are fantastic. I could not fault the special effects at all. However, I felt the 3D superfluous and unnecessary – don’t pay extra for it. The score is decent and fits well to the action on screen, but is nothing special.

Scott has chosen to ground his telling of the plagues of Egypt in the possibilities of science, and the famed crossing of the Red Sea as less of a parting and more of a wading as the result of the prelude to a tsunami. As a result, the film equally questions the power of God as it supposedly demonstrates it. I rather liked this, as it leaves the answer up to the audience, and doesn't once step on anyone’s faith. It is respectful as it epic.

My one big criticism is that I was left wondering quite what the film was meant to be – blockbuster action, or an in-depth character study of one of history’s ubiquitous figures? Somehow it manages to weave the two together, but never quite reaches the potential I expected.

Overall, ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ is a grand re-telling of a very old and familiar story. The beginning drags, and the ending is soft, but the spectacle of the middle makes the film worth seeing.