Ridley Scott has created quite an extraordinary adventure based on the Biblical story of Moses rising up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses and setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues. Starring Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton and Ben Kingsley, this film tells how one man's daring courage took on a mighty empire. Using state of the art visual effects and 3D imagery, Scott brings new life to this classic story. KIDS FIRST! Critic Gerry O. (age 12) comments, "Exodus: Gods and Kings is a masterpiece that everybody should watch. This film combines a story about religion with a sense of history, while still having a touch of action, suspense and even a perfect sprinkle of romance." Keefer B. (age 14) adds, "The landscape of this film is colossal! If you get a chance, watch this on the big screen. Some of you will wait and watch it on your phone or laptop but that does the film a huge disservice. Whether it's 3D or not, it's amazing when watching Egypt being built with swarms of people." See their full reviews below.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Reviewed by Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Critic, age 12
Not only does this film teach you about one of the most important things in Jewish history, it tells one of the greatest stories history has to offer. Exodus: Gods and Kings is a masterpiece that everybody should watch.
This film combines a story about religion with a sense of history, while still having a touch of action, suspense and even a perfect sprinkle of romance.
This movie is about an Egyptian prince named Moses that gets exiled from Egypt when it is discovered that Moses is Hebrew (Jewish). After surviving through a long travel, he starts a new life, gets married and has a child. One day, he climbs a mountain that is known as God's mountain, where he gets knocked out and has an encounter with God who tells him to go to Egypt and free his people -- the Jewish slaves, and take them back to the promise land.
This movie is stupendous! Of course it will appeal to Jewish people for this is a very big part of Jewish history, but I recommend this film for everybody. This tells a truly remarkable story about one man freeing four hundred thousand slaves from the Egyptian Empire with the help of what he believes to be God. While this is a whopping two hour long film, I didn't want it to end. This story is one that requires time to tell it and is truly inspiring. On a personal note, as a Jew, this film helped me understand my culture better and, in a way, to live through this journey with the characters. This film makes me want to do more and find out more about this part of history.
My favorite scene is when Moses climbs this mountain that is known to be God's and, after getting knocked out when rocks fall on him, he wakes up to a bush on fire. A boy that turns out to be God is standing in front of him, building a small pyramid out of little stone cubes and telling Moses to free his people, implying free the Jewish people from Egypt.
This movie is very mature. It takes a look at a very violent time in history. So, I would recommend it to ages 13 to 18. I also give it 5 out 5 stars for fantastic acting, directing, producing and breath-taking backgrounds and sets. If you have a chance to see this film in 3D, I strongly recommend it because the quality of the film is absolutely breathtaking. I hope that creators will continue with the rest of the books that are offered by Torah.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Reviewed by Keefer C.B.
Grand! Truly the most epic version of this story. Moses( Christian Bale) goes through a journey of faith to set the slaves of Eygpt free from Pharaoh Rhamses (Joel Edgerton).
The actors in this film are superb. From Edgerton's portrayal of arrogant Ramses to Ben Kingsley's portrayal as the wise and spiritual Nun. Every character has a distinct identity, especially my favorite character, Moses who goes through dynamic changes in this film thanks to an outstanding performance by Bale.
The landscape of this film is colossal! If you get a chance, watch this on the big screen. Some of you will wait and watch it on your phone or laptop but that does the film a huge disservice. Whether it's 3D or not, it's amazing when watching Egypt being built with swarms of people. The desert locations they chose set the tone of the film. The most monumental scene is when the slaves walk through the Red Sea. It's a race against time and tide that keeps you on the edge of you seat.
The story focus is on Moses' relationship with a higher power. Some of the best scene are him talking or arguing with God, who is portrayed as a little boy (Isaac Andrews). However, in the film this character is identified as Malak which is the Hebrew term for Angel. This raises questions, "Is he talking to God? Is Moses imagining these conversations? Could it be that the boy he is talking to represents himself?" Not only does this show how extraordinary the storytelling is, it also results in the audience coming to their own conclusions. That shows that you don't have to believe in a specific religion to enjoy this film. Which is an ambitious move on the director's part, but I'm glad they did it.
My favorite scene is the last conversation Moses has with Malak. This is when Moses write down the Ten Commandments. I adore this scene because it's a reflection of the journey that Moses went on. And, this is another great scene between Bale and Andrews.
The message of this story is, "how far will you go for your faith." God has had enough of seeing his people suffer so he sends nine plagues to make Ramses let his people go. Ramses retaliates by killing more Hebrews. There is so much death. It leads to one to side with doing something even worse. By the end, one side wins but, when you really think about it, how many people died to get there?
I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend this to 14 through 18-year-olds. This film contains extremely brutal images that most young kids won't be able to handle. It's necessary because the story focuses on showing the inhumanity of slavery. Other than that, check out this epic film in theaters December 12.
Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
Keefer B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 14