Ridley Scott’s take on the Exodus story is a visually epic yet risky endeavour, with Exodus: Gods and Kings bringing an alternate approach to a sacred story, resulting in a thrilling, complex, yet at times frustrating watch.

2014 has been an interesting one in religious themed filmmaking. Where 2011 saw many a religious movie from the atheist perspective (Higher Ground, Red State), this year the ball is on the more devout side (Noah, Son of God). The results – box office, critical and from the faithful – has been mixed.

Only fitting then, that the year when Hollywood got religion, it ended with one of cinema’s great visionaries setting his gaze upon perhaps the most sacred of scriptures that plays a vital part in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions.

Indeed in every way Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings is visually massive, reminding of the traditional epic spectacular of David Lean and Cecil B. Demille, yet reaching even more lofty heights through new school technology that immediately transports viewers to an ancient Egypt that is about to experience the powerful wrath of a vengeful God.

Key to that event is the spiritual journey of Moses (Christian Bale), an Egyptian prince whose true identity as an Israelite is revealed to him, putting him in direct conflict with his adopted brother and Pharaoh, Rhamses (Joel Edgerton) who exiles Moses from his kingdom.

It is from this moment where Scott and his four screenwriters (including Oscar nominee Jeffrey Caine and Oscar winner Steven Zaillian) put their stamp on the Moses story, with the iconic figure presented as a non-believer who in finding his true identity comes face to face with that he believed did not exist: God. (And yes, unlike Noah they say the word in this one).

As portrayed by Bale, this Moses is one filled with conflict and complexities, and whose relationship with God is complicated to say the least. While Bale brings intensity and ferociousness to this warrior turned chosen leader of a deprived people (with Scott going so far as to having Moses portrayed as a freedom fighting revolutionary), what surprises the most are the tender moments, the scenes shared between Moses and his wife Zipporah (Maria Valverde), or when Moses is told the true story of his birth by a memorable yet little seen Ben Kingsley.    

Joel Edgerton in turn brilliantly plays the ego, brutality and impatience that’s part and parcel of Rhamses, one of the Bible’s great villains who at times is portrayed as a sympathetic figure. It’s just a shame that Scott couldn’t give more time to establish the emotional connection between both he and Moses.       

Where things get risky is in Scott’s depiction of the divine. As evident in his Kingdom of Heaven, Scott’s relationship with religion is full of its own conflicts (previous quotes on how religion is the “biggest source of evil” does the marketing of this Biblical epic no favours), and there are moments in Exodus… when his handling of the Almighty can be frustrating. How else to describe Moses’ underwhelming burning bush moment with Yahweh? Or the depictions of God as pre-pubescent in both look and reason?

Then again if it is a conservative telling of the Exodus story you are craving, Cecil B. Demille’s 1956 classic The Ten Commandments is always available for consumption. No, Ridley Scott has delivered a different kind of Biblical epic, one that questions just as much as it glorifies the power of the Almighty as He destroys the scourge who has taken more than their pound of flesh from “God’s Chosen People”.

This cannot be more evident than in Scott’s depiction of the varied plagues which befall Egypt. Much like the theistic evolution sequence in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Scott is not content in God’s click of His finger approach to His miracles. Rather there is rhyme and logic to how the Nile runs red with blood and locusts descend upon an unprepared nation. After all, wouldn’t the Creator know how to make His world do His bidding? And in true Scott fashion, it is a magnificent sight to behold.

Exactly how religious audiences (especially that large Christian demographic) will embrace Scott’s slanted take on this most holy of stories will be anyone’s guess. Hopefully those who have had their fill of Charlton Heston epics would appreciate something a little different.