Opening: EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, A Barrage Of Biblical Bombast

Meeting, but rarely exceeding, expectations, Ridley Scott's grand retelling of Moses and the Hebrews' flight from Egypt is strong on visuals and A-list presence, but slight on narrative and characterisation. Christian Bale and Joel Egerton both put in fine performances as Moses and Rameses, while the rest of the big-name cast gets lost amidst a CG-heavy blizzard of battles, plagues, revolts and muddled imagery.

While Ridley Scott began his career with inquisitive, genre-defining science fiction films, he soon found his stride as Hollywood's go-to guy for epic tales of adventure, revolution and historical derring-do. b>Exodus: Gods And Kings (which pilfers its sub-heading from a stalled rival production that was at one time to be directed by Steven Spielberg) feels very much cut from the same cloth as 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Gladiator and Kingdom Of Heaven.

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This is an excerpt from our original review, published in connection with the film's release in Asia. You can read the entire review right here. Exodus: Gods and Kings opens wide in theatres across North America on Friday, December 12.