Miscast Exodus: Gods and Kings Isn’t Quite as Impactful as It Should Have Been

Rating:

We all know what Exodus: Gods and Kings is about. Moses (Christian Bale) opposes Ramses (Joel Edgerton) and frees the Hebrews from years of servitude. It goes without saying that the stage is epic. However, it is not as convincingly portrayed on screen by the actors playing the parts of Moses, Ramses, and a few others. The casting choices made for this movie don’t seem entirely credible to me.
Christian Bale plays Moses; a part that Charlton Heston so magnificently portrayed in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. There is no way in the world that anyone could have played Moses better than Charlton Heston, however, I am not comparing the two actors. The point I am trying to make is that I am not entirely satisfied with the decision to cast Christian Bale as Moses. Somehow he doesn’t look like a man who can lead all of the Hebrews to follow him. Again, casting Joel Edgerton to play Ramses doesn’t make much sense. Joel Edgerton doesn’t look half as menacing as the character he is portraying.
Apart from Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton, I also think that John Turturro, and to a lesser extent both Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver, weren’t the right choices to go along with in this case. As talented as these actors are, miscasting them can only result in a good script looking very ordinary. I think Exodus: Gods and Kings is an apt example of that. If you have a story of biblical proportions then you got to cast actors who can support it through their acting by matching up to it.
Director Ridley Scott’s decision to cast white actors in this movie has been in the news of late. From a cinematic standpoint, I would say that it is not about casting white actors or not, it is more about casting the right actors that matters.
I am going to give Exodus: Gods and Kings three stars. Even though the screenplay, cinematography, special effects, background score and the rest of it is more than acceptable, the faulty casting choices lets it down. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that all the actors who act in this movie are excellent at their craft, however, some of them don’t fit their roles very well here. Even so, I would recommend that you give Exodus: Gods and Kings a shot and make up your mind.