Exodus-Gods and Kings, is a disappointing effort from (Sir) Ridley Scott.

While the movie’s scale and a few action sequences (good 3D effect as well) pique your interest, it lacks the drama to sustain it. One cannot play too much with a known and an old myth/story, but a few creative liberties would have helped this aspiring-to-be-a-blockbuster effort. Or it should have been true to the fable/myth/religious context. The movie takes a middle approach and it shows in all the departments. Chrisitian Bale and the rest of the cast do what they are supposed to do. Seasoned actors like Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver do just a little bit, lest you should miss them or be mistaken for set properties.

Here’s an excellent snippet from a review on a Forbes.

The key fatal flaws of Exodus is the lack of any emotional focal point and a lack of any real urgency to the proceedings. The film is so emotionally flat, really throughout the entire 150-minute run time, that it feels less like a movie than a handsomely-staged and visually-spectacular book report of the story of Moses and the Jews. The film stumbles badly in its second half as well, attempting to “deepen” the story by making Moses conflicted and offering hints that he was basically a terrorist (he explicitly states that they have to attack the civilians to nudge the government), regardless of the fact that God is basically going to do what God is going to do with or without his help

While the movie’s marketing tried to steer away from the classic ‘The Ten Commandments’ (so did the animated film ‘The Prince of Egypt’ in the past) the comparisons would be inevitable. If the old film plate effects do not bother you, The Ten Commandments is still a great film to watch.

Tailpiece: The famous red sea sequence is treated ambiguously and becomes ordinary in the end, when a drenched Moses is found on the beach, as if waking up from a stupor.

Here’s the scene from the classic ‘The Ten Commandments’

 Tail piece 2: Ridley Scott dedicates this film to his brother and acclaimed director Tony Scott. Hmm….he deserves a lot better

There’s a certain charm when a solid actor plays an action hero. He brings in elements into movie, that otherwise might be considered incongruous in an action movie– tight close-ups, verbal duels with the villain, reluctance to unleash his power  etc–along with the regular bang-bang stuff. Denzel Washington does something similar to the vigilante-loner-action-hero picture ‘The Equalizer’

Denzel with his towering screen presence and acting caliber, steers the movie through to its logical conclusion. He brings in a languid, samuraiesque flow to the proceedings. He is an ex-agent, who has seen it all, with the power to powder anyone, but  waits patiently with a loaded gun and folded fists. He is so assured about himself and miserly about bullets, that he even gives his opponent a chance to walk away.

Director Antoine Fuqua adds enough padding and lets Denzel do his job. The movie  appears a bit slow at times, but every time Denzel comes back on the screen there’s never a dull moment. While there are several scenes that stand out, the first scene where he meets the villain on his doorstep, is perhaps the best of all. He redefines the word ‘cool’ in that scene 🙂

All in all, ‘The Equalizer’ is a must watch for all Denzel fans, who would love see him in an action avatar and do not mind his home improvement tools piercing through goons.

Movies I was reminded of: Heat, Taken, Jack Reacher, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Dirty Harry.

Couple of quotes from the movie

• “I am offering you a chance to do the right thing. Take it.”
• “What do you see when you look at me”