EXODUS GODS AND KINGS: Review

What are the challenges in making a movie out of a story that everyone knows? The visual language, the character arcs and the emotional knots have to be perfected so that the audience stays in the present frame without wandering ahead to the already known conclusion. The challenge becomes even greater when the said story has already been made into a movie, one that went on to become a timeless classic. Yes, whenever anyone attempts to make a movie on Moses, there are bound to be comparisons with The Ten Commandments, one of most widely watched movies ever. How does Exodus distinguish itself from its extremely admitted and revered predecessor?
There is an attempt to present Moses as a great warrior of Egypt who left behind his life of conquest after he grew too tired and also found love. But one feels that a lot of time is taken up in setting up this basic premise that we already knew anyway. Nearly an hour is taken up in this process which is precious time mostly because of the fact that the actual legend of Moses begins only after this. You feel a bit weary when Moses' actual purpose in life begins.
The story of Moses and The Ten Commandments is not an ordinary one. It is one of the rarest occasions  when God directly speaks to a man to get something done. The mystique of such a happening was beautifully translated into screen in The Ten Commandments, and that is somehow missing in Exodus. While God was just a booming voice in The Ten Commandments, we get to see him in Exodus, but in a very unlikely form, a child. Now, that is an idea that could have worked very well, but one feels it doesn't quite work here.
Not just that, some of the lines spoken by God seem to have too much of vengeance on them, rather than the inevitability of destiny. In other words those dialogues seem to be too much that of a mortal. God seems to have an ego and a temper in Exodus, which might not seem acceptable to many. That feeling might also be attributable to the performance of the child as God. The weight on those tiny shoulders is too immense and he isn't aided by any directorial tricks or techniques. He falls a bit short in some scenes where Ridley Scott should have helped him more. Also, the emperor of Egypt hardly strikes an imposing figure. He looks an insecure man throughout, which is perhaps what was intended.
One gets a feeling that there is a deliberate attempt to keep things real rather than lend an air of mystic. The color patterns and imagery of The Ten Commandments travel transported us to a mythical time and land which gave an aura. Exodus lacks any of that aura. The only time when the visuals have an impact is when a series of plagues hit Egypt. The biggest opportunity to create an on screen spectacle however is totally lost- the cleaving of the Red sea, which is one of the most iconic scenes in world cinema falls flat in Exodus. The chariots as I remember looked more real and fast in Ben Hur than they do in Exodus.
It might seem unfair to compare a movie with such classics, but whenever such themes are handled, these comparisons are inevitable. Exodus handles a story that has a universal appeal and lends itself to great visual imagery and aura. In Exodus, we get a well narrated story but none of the other elements which would have made it a special experience. In spite of Christian Bale's best efforts, the movie remains a linear narrative, not an inspiring experience. We did expect Ridley Scott to deliver something better with such a great tale. In spite of that Exodus is a big effort to retell one of the greatest stories ever and needs to be seen.

Doesn't move or inspire as expected.
2.5/5