This
is definitely not the Charlton Heston and Cecil B. De Mille version of the
Moses story. Instead this version of the story
of the Hebrew man who became Egyptian royalty and went back again, is told in a matter of
fact way, without as much fanfare as the earlier version had.
However ‘Exodus’ did have its moments of plagues and
horrors that no movie before it has ever shown.
Compelling it is and graphic.
Producer, Ridley Scott returns to a format he is familiar
with, but sadly this movie is no ‘Gladiator’.
Christian Bale as Moses gives it his all, but seems
unhappy along the way without a more believable script, which also needed more
believable characters.
The story of Moses about courage and faith and
taking on the mighty Egyptian empire is a David and Goliath story – which of
course was another biblical story. We
all know who won those battles.
Obviously the movie had great visuals of hundreds of
thousands of slaves, battle scenes, rodents crossing the city streets, among many
others. It’s difficult nowadays to tell
if they are real, or computer generated.
Sadly the latter seems to be the case, for financial and other reasons.
There is a burning bush, as in the biblical tale,
but surprisingly it’s not as interesting a visual as the 1956 version. The image of God is not that of an invisible
force with a bellowing hollow voice, but that of a young child scolding
Moses. It works for this version of the
story but it seems too easy a way to present the story.
The 3D visuals in the movie is not really necessary,
but overall the story is well told, and not the worst movie around.
David
Flynn
It’s incredible that Peter Jackson managed to make three
blockbuster movies out of a not very ample sized novel. However he has done so, and with nearly as
major a series as he did with the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
In this third and final movie, Bilbo
Baggins (Martin Freeman) continues his journey with the Dwarves, and they are
forced to engage in a war, to keep safe the Lonely Mountain.
Dragons, looking and acting dangerous,
and magnificent old towns built especially in New Zealand for the The Hobbit
set, all show off a beautiful adventure.
Along the way, Gandalf is rescued from prison and gets in on the
act.
Oh wouldn’t it be brilliant to be 10
years old again, and to really appreciate these visuals.
The love affair between dwarf, Killi
(Aidan Turner) and the elf, Tauriel played by Evangeline Lily, which doesn’t
feature in J.R.R. Tolkein's novel, is featured strongly in the movie.
Ian McKellan returns as Gandalf, in
this his sixth movie playing the same role, as does Orlando Bloom as
Legolas. Oscar winner, Cate Blanchett
returns as Galadriel. Other familiar
faces include Sylvester McCoy (a former Dr. Who), Hugo Weaving, and Ian Holm as
the older Bilbo.
The movie goes on and on, but with
your 3D glasses, it’s worth the two and a half hour effort.
David Flynn
