5 Big Problems with “Exodus: Gods and Kings”

ChurchPOP ^ | 2014 | Michael Saltis

[millegan]

When known unbeliever Ridley Scott was announced as the director, faithful film buffs feared the worst. Not only were many unsure whether he would treat the Biblical story with respect, but his film record since the smash hit Gladiator has been rather uneven (Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, and Prometheus all failed to connect with wide audiences). As it turns out, Exodus is thankfully respectful of believers, if not a little ambiguous about the goodness of God. But sadly, a number of Scott’s artistic decisions effectively rob the story of its potential to entertain and to uplift.

Here are five big problems with Exodus: Gods and Kings (SPOILERS AHEAD… for anyone who isn’t familiar with the Book of Exodus):

[Tax-chick]

My son saw it. He said the problems were the story, the cast, and the direction.

[Salvation]

Pimping your blog again?

[Boogieman]

Just a few minor points, then :)

[MeganC]

I won’t bother wasting my time on this one. Ever.

[Tax-chick]

He spoke in terms I can’t repeat here about how it wasted his time and money, and he used various personal slurs about the cast members. When he decided to see it, he said, he wasn’t expecting it to be true to the source material. However, he hoped it would be an okay movie, on its own terms ... but it was not.

He and his friends saw the latest Hobbit release last night, but he hasn’t come home yet to report on it. (”Be home by 3:00 p.m.”)

[circlecity]

One of my friends from Church saw it and he was not impressed. He advised that I wait for it to come to Netflicks.

[Tax-chick]

My son would say it was a waste of time watching it on Netflix, since you could use the same time to watch “Phineas and Ferb.”

[Steve_Seattle]

"My son saw it. He said the problems were the story, the cast, and the direction."

I saw it, and criticisms of the casting are widespread. The Egyptians, in particular, were mostly a bunch of white people with British accents.

[DoodleDawg]

Only five? I’ve heard the movie is awful.

[ansel12]

Wow, this guy really is a blog pimp.

He just signed up for that reason, spams us with his blog, and never responds, ever, zero.

Post and run blog pimp.

[mlo]

"...if not a little ambiguous about the goodness of God."

Have you read the Old Testament?

[Steve_Seattle]

I don’t recall anything in the Bible about Moses being a general or a top advisor to Pharaoh, or saving the life of Rameses, only that he was raised in Pharaoh’s household. And where does the story of Moses depict God sending an army of giant crocodiles/alligators against the Egyptian ships?

[IronJack]

1) Ridley Scott
2) Hollywood
3) Christian Bale
4) Ridley Scott, Hollywood, and Christian Bale
5) Christian Bale, Hollywood, and Ridley Scott

[Steve_Seattle]

"My son saw it. He said the problems were the story, the cast, and the direction."

The only thing Hollywood does consistently well these days is special effects. They are not very good storytellers, even when starting off with promising source material like "The Hobbit."

[atc23]

I fell asleep in that Hobbit movie . .

Borrrrr -ing

[longfellow]

What if Moses had a Batmobile?

[longfellow]

The alligators came with the rock monsters from Noah.

[atc23]

Kings”, mlo wrote:

"...if not a little ambiguous about the goodness of God."

Have you read the Old Testament?

No lie, God smote Hell out of folks for the most minor infractions.

[dware]

I’d say the first problem is in the title, where it says “GodS”