Exodus: Dioses y reyes

Una epopeya bíblica sobre Moisés en la que no hace falta cuestionar a los personajes y sus relaciones, porque todos los conocemos bien. Basta con presentar un hermoso concepto épico con impresionantes exteriores y bonito vestuario, y la representación efectiva de los desastres legendarios o cruzando el océano convertirá la película en el gran éxito. Nada mas lejos de la verdad. Soy ateo y los hechos bíblicos por sí solos no bastan para mi entusiasmo. Estos debían ser sólo el pilar del pensamiento para la representación sentida de la motivación de los personajes y las dificultades de la etapa histórica fundamental de la humanidad, sus problemas políticos y étnicos. Todo este le falta a Exodo: Dioses y Reyes o sólo aparece brevemente. Una gran obra que es menos entretenida que la tontería de Drácula: La leyenda jamás contada. (28.12.2014)

We can clearly see in every other scene, how much the movie was edited and it is more that obvious that Ridley has a much longer version of it in his drawer. Without this, it would have been even better. But even in its current not polished form, it is exactly what one would expect from it. In other words, it is a truly magnificent and handcrafted adaptation of one of the most impressive stories ever. The snag is mainly in the form of the already mentioned cinema editing, which should have either been shorter and free of all those ambitious subversive motives and themes (Moses' blinded madness, his unbelief, vengeful (not)God of preschool age, emphasis on the non-mythological line, doubting Joshua, Macbeth-like Sigourney, much more sympathetic Egyptians led by the pharaoh, etc.) and simply being an "precise" adaptation of the well-known or should have been even longer and should have been more focused on the above-mentioned and purely sympathetic ambitious subversions. In its current form, however, it is unfinished and halfway, because the epicness of Egypt, individual wounds and the exodus itself were prioritized in terms of footage. Which is a letdown on one hand, but on the other hand it is very enjoyable to watch. That is for sure. (26.06.2015)

At first, I thought Scott was going to do the bidding of the Jewish lobby, which has long since failed to let the viewing public be moved by its bitter fate through a narrative sandal. Yet he goes about it in a surprisingly rational way, and so while the pragmatic appreciation of the seven plagues of Egypt by Pharaoh's croaker is still laughable, Moshe's revolution, in which he is on the edge of personal madness, is no longer feigned, and the unorthodox vision is definitely clamped at the bottom of the Red Sea, with even the slight shortcoming (the not-quite-functional portrayal of the bond between the "brothers," which is fortunately saved by both characters; and 20 minutes more would have helped) receding and both ordinary viewers and the those familiar with the literary work will be satisfied. (20.07.2015)

Exodus is classic Ridley Scott, and after the disaster that was The Counselor, I needed this. It’s got the epic storyline, brutal battle scenes, and some absolutely stunning visuals—like the Ten Plagues—that are going to haunt me for a while. The score is solid, the performances are great, and honestly, the only thing that bothers me is knowing there’s a four-hour version out there. If Ridley had released that cut in theaters, everything might have made more sense. I went to the bathroom for like a minute during the movie, and when I came back, it felt like I missed a huge chunk of the story. You can tell they had to cut a lot to fit it into two and a half hours. Still, despite the pacing issues, I can't find much else to criticize. I don’t get the hate from some critics who call this one of Scott’s worst films. Sure, it’s not perfect, but nobody else could’ve made it this well. I think everyone should just watch it and decide for themselves. I know I’m satisfied. (04.01.2015)

Definitely better than Darren Aronofsky's Noah, but still, Ridley Scott could have gotten more out of it. Exodus is an epic and visually arresting sensation that is rather empty, cold, emotionless and with an excessive running time, that's what slightly hindered my full experience here. For an hour and a half nothing interesting actually happens apart from Moses' wanderings around the world, this could definitely have been cut down and instead more time spent on the Egyptian plagues, which are over rather quickly, but there can be no fault with them they are perfectly shot, gripping and breathtaking. The final tsunami will literally make your mouth drop, I've never seen anything better. It's amazing how technology is moving forward, it's a pity the pace didn't get more of a push on the throttle, it might have made me melt. Must see on big screen!!! 75% (31.12.2014)