'Exodus: Gods and Kings': First Impressions

You've been waiting for it and now it's here. The first teaser for the upcoming biblical epic, 'Exodus: Gods and Kings', has appeared and it's isn't afraid to show you the big guns. If you haven't already, you can check it out here:



'Exodus: Gods and Kings' is set to follow the biblical account of Moses (played by Christian Bale) and the leading of the Israelites out of Egypt under God's divine provision and is set to release in theaters on December 12, 2014. Needless to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway, this is planned to be another professionally made cinematic take on a biblical account thus capping off a year full of faith-based/Christian/biblically-inspired-in-some-sort-of-shape-and-form films including 'God's Not Dead', 'Heaven is For Real', and everyone's favorite controversy: 'Rock People: The Movie' 'Noah'. So basically there's not much marketing needed to get the buzz going for this movie. The trailer did make me very curious though and even slightly impressed.

Source: Image found on hitfix 

Right from the start we get a peek into some of the larger-than-life scaled landscapes that will be in the movie. There are colorful and well defined shots, from Pharoah's (played by Joel Edgerton) men charging through a hectic desert on their way to war to an overlooking view of Egypt as slaves toiled away at working night and day. Immediately I know that this will be a film that took a lot of time and effort to make and will really bring the story it tells to life for it's audience. The armor and swords look well crafted and genuine, the sets look historically detailed and it actually looks like movie-Egypt. I greatly respect that and it's one of the few things that I will continually applaud Aronofsky's 'Noah' for, despite it's other flaws. Director Ridley Scott has a reputation for raising the bar when it comes to jaw-dropping cinematic elements ('Blade Runner' 'Prometheus', 'Black Hawk Down') and I'm really hoping he doesn't disappoint this time around.

Source: Image found on moviepilot 

Another thing that stood out to me was the emphasis on the brotherly bond between Moses and Ramses. About 37 seconds in, greatly supporting what sounds like a song from Lorde, an unknown voice speaks saying "Moses, Ramses. When I look at you I still see the two little boys that grew up together...close as brothers". I've said before how everything in movies is intentional and I think this was put in the teaser for a reason. This is more than likely gonna be one of the main driving forces to push the character development and plot along. Honestly, this scares me a bit. Although it is true that Moses and Ramses grew up together as brothers and shared a strong brotherly bond, it isn't something that is emphasized a lot in the retelling of Moses' story and that can potentially run this movie into the ground if not controlled and handled correctly. If everything in this film goes according to biblical texts (which very well may not happen -cough- 'Noah' -cough-) then I don't think there's much need to worry. It would be a nice element to the retelling of this historical tale. If major creative liberties are taken though like more awesome rock people, then the audience may as well be ready to break out into a rendition of NigaHiga's "Bromance" by the end credits because nothing would ruin this movie more than a brother-to-brother sappy love tale.

I love you in the most heterosexual way!

Source: Image found on baleheadsblog 

Despite the glitz and glam, there's one thing that will continue to worry me until I sit down in the theatre myself and watch this movie on opening day: It's accuracy. You see, it's one thing to have a alright/good movie that's well-produced but it's an entirely different thing to have that and nail down the core details of biblical stories and elements. While other "biblical" movies were released this year I don't recall much of them actually being you know....biblical. Controversial? Yes. What's more controversial than giant rock angel monsters building an ark or a boy who claimed to see heaven? Pretty? Yes. Almost all the "biblical"/faith-based movies that came out this year looked really good from the trailer, even to non-Christians. But everyone's still missing that accuracy mark. 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' looks promising. I mean look at the cast: Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight", "The Prestige", "American Hustle"), Aaron Paul("Need For Speed", "Breaking Bad"), Joel Edgerton("Warrior", "The Great Gatsby") and Sigourney Weaver ("Avatar", "Aliens"). I'm just really hoping this doesn't take so many creative liberties that we're given a completely different story from the original. In case it does though...

Source: Image found on baleheadsblog 

...I hope that the voice heard from the Christian community won't be too disrespectful and tear down something that could be such a good opportunity to meet people at. We've seen that with "Noah" and that wasn't pretty. At All. If "Exodus: Gods and Kings" does indeed take some serious creative liberties then I think Christians should use that as an opportunity to reach out to start conversations and meet people where they're at. After I had watched "Noah" (another blog post for another time) I was able to get into many conversations with those both in and out of the Christian faith about the Bible and the areas where the movie strayed from what it was based on. That led to friendships and conversations that left an impact on those people. There's a way to approach and handle things like that and I'm hoping that if this movie goes south, then we as Christians would think, critique, examine and engage appropriately with respect, love, and a heart willing to reach people and teach what the Bible really says.

All in all, I'm excited to see what "Exodus: Gods and Kings" has in store this December.