Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- Before Christian Bale was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- The incredible score for Exodus: Gods and Kings was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
Exodus: Gods and Kings is a 2014 American biblical epic directed by Ridley Scott. Christian Bale stars as Moses, depicted not as a divinely inspired prophet but as a military commander and skeptical rationalist who struggles to accept the supernatural nature of his mission to free the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Joel Edgerton plays Pharaoh Ramesses II, Moses's adoptive brother turned antagonist, whose pride and stubbornness drive the conflict to its devastating conclusion through the ten plagues.
Ridley Scott's approach was characteristically grand in scale โ the Red Sea parting was reimagined as a tsunami caused by an earthquake, and the plagues were depicted as a chain of natural phenomena triggered by the river turning to blood from crocodile feeding โ reflecting Scott's desire to find quasi-scientific explanations for biblical events. The film was controversial for casting white actors in Middle Eastern and North African roles, with Bale himself acknowledging the criticism. Exodus earned $268 million worldwide on a $140 million budget.
