Post by Doomsday on Apr 15, 2015 11:33:37 GMT -5
Exodus: Gods and Kings
I wondered how a guy like Ridley Scott could manage to screw up the story of Moses. After all, this is Ridley Scott we’re talking about. His early greats aside, this guy gave us Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven. The guy can make an epic. Exodus: Gods and Kings came and went in theaters which made me wonder ‘How? How could this go wrong?’ Was the faux outrage over the casting really that big of an influence? Was it released at the wrong time? Unfortunately the answers to my initial question are too simple and unfortunately too common. Throughout the movie there was never a time where I felt that Exodus knew exactly what it wanted to say or what movie it wanted to be. It’s loaded with characters and subplots that are merely introduced and then set aside. Moses seems more confused than anything throughout the entirety of the movie. Major decisions by the paper-thin characters are made off a whim. There’s seemingly almost no motivation behind anyone. Even Moses can’t convince us that he’s 100% in the game and he talked to God. Some of this can be attributed to several miscastings like Aaron Paul (why is he in this?), Sigourney Weaver (seriously, why is she in this?), Ben Kingsley (his 4 lines aside, why is he in this?) and even Christian Bale. Bale never was and never has been the cinematic chameleon that people claim that he is and his taking on characters outside his range have afflicted more than one movie (see: Public Enemies) but the guy can act when given the right material. This is not it. What ultimately sinks this movie is the writing. It’s out of focus, out of touch and although it knows where it wants to go it can’t decide how it wants to get there. The end result is a tedious, boring movie that can't deliver when it really matters. Yes, you can screw up the story of Moses.
Also, if you’re making a movie about the Hebrews with God (or at least God’s messenger) as a central figure, why start the film with ‘1300 BCE?’ Just a thought.
C- so says Doomsday
I wondered how a guy like Ridley Scott could manage to screw up the story of Moses. After all, this is Ridley Scott we’re talking about. His early greats aside, this guy gave us Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven. The guy can make an epic. Exodus: Gods and Kings came and went in theaters which made me wonder ‘How? How could this go wrong?’ Was the faux outrage over the casting really that big of an influence? Was it released at the wrong time? Unfortunately the answers to my initial question are too simple and unfortunately too common. Throughout the movie there was never a time where I felt that Exodus knew exactly what it wanted to say or what movie it wanted to be. It’s loaded with characters and subplots that are merely introduced and then set aside. Moses seems more confused than anything throughout the entirety of the movie. Major decisions by the paper-thin characters are made off a whim. There’s seemingly almost no motivation behind anyone. Even Moses can’t convince us that he’s 100% in the game and he talked to God. Some of this can be attributed to several miscastings like Aaron Paul (why is he in this?), Sigourney Weaver (seriously, why is she in this?), Ben Kingsley (his 4 lines aside, why is he in this?) and even Christian Bale. Bale never was and never has been the cinematic chameleon that people claim that he is and his taking on characters outside his range have afflicted more than one movie (see: Public Enemies) but the guy can act when given the right material. This is not it. What ultimately sinks this movie is the writing. It’s out of focus, out of touch and although it knows where it wants to go it can’t decide how it wants to get there. The end result is a tedious, boring movie that can't deliver when it really matters. Yes, you can screw up the story of Moses.
Also, if you’re making a movie about the Hebrews with God (or at least God’s messenger) as a central figure, why start the film with ‘1300 BCE?’ Just a thought.
C- so says Doomsday
