Exodus: Gods and Kings

What was director Ridley Scott thinking? Not only does this underwhelming $140-million epic spectacle pale in comparison with Cecil B. DeMille's classic The Ten Commandments, but Scott depicts God as a petulant British boy. The main biblical story elements are here: baby Moses being found in the reeds and raised as companion to Pharaoh's son Ramses, the slavery of the Hebrews, the plagues, and the business with the Red Sea. But the Ten Commandments seem like an afterthought. When first seen, Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel Edgerton) are grown men, warriors charged with caring for each other by Pharaoh Seti (John Turturro), whose soothsayer warns him of an ominous prophecy. After a sneaky viceroy exposes Moses's lowly Hebrew lineage, he's banished. Wandering through the wilderness, Moses meets and marries a winsome wench, but obviously suffering from an identity crisis the brooding Moses is only reluctantly compelled to free the Hebrews from slavery. When Pharaoh refuses, Egypt endures frogs, gnats, boils, and locusts, until the final plague—the death of his firstborn son—convinces the Pharaoh. And instead of the Red Sea parting, the water simply recedes, in a much less dramatic fashion. Working from a lame, revisionist script (Moses never even says, “Let my people go.”), the actors here mostly flounder. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Ridley Scott and co-screenwriter Jeffrey Caine, and deleted and extended scenes (15 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Historical Guide” trivia track, and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an underwhelming epic.] (S. Granger)