bheadher ..andt failed...the main problem is, it isn't easy to put modern dialog into ancient Egypt. This telling lacks any real depth, and feels wooden as a result.Ridley Scott tried to project the majestic panorama of Egypt, and the collosal wonders, but stopped short of making the canvas live...I really can't go on, this telling of the bible is frankly poorly done, and the old Charleton Heston version far outshines it into obscurity...

uncsbuddy91 I loved most of the story line, and I could look past the battle training montage, but they screwed up the most epic scene. I would have added this movie to my collection, but it is called the *parting* of the Red Sea, not the "refilling" of the Red Sea. How do you mess that up???? They had the special effects budget to create the parting, and it would've been a great movie. But noooooo, they had to completely fictionalize that scene. I was so disappointed and disgusted by that.

beorhouse For the plusses: The Creator is shown to be the true God who is listened to while the gods worshiped by the Egyptians are deaf to their cries for help. Too, the CGI effects are fantastic to see and very realistic. For the negatives: primarily, the story does not follow the written record in the Bible. It does not matter whether you believe that written record is historical or not. You may believe it is purely fictional. Your opinion one way or another is insignificant. The fact is that we have four very ancient documents--the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy--that have inspired a number of films about Moses, and for this film those documents seem to have only been studied cursorily while the imaginations of the writer and director--and maybe even the actors themselves--were allowed to go off on tangents. Why not tell the story as it appears in the documents? Not freaky enough? Moses not tough-guy enough? Moses wasn't a tough guy. He was, and I paraphrase from the documents, the most humble man to ever walk to earth, speaking with God as a friend would speak with another friend. Where's his son's foreskin being smeared all over his feet by his wife Zipporah? Too graphic for a wide audience, I suppose. Why does his brother Aaron just stand there and not do what he is traditionally supposed to do, which is to speak for Moses whenever the latter has anything at all to say? I guess that would have taken the spotlight too far away from Bale. Where's Moses' powerful staff that can part waters and make the land between dry enough to walk across or coax much- needed water from a rock or turn into a serpent-swallowing serpent? Oh, I see. The snake-eating part of the story couldn't be explained as a natural occurrence like most of the plagues are. Maybe there was a natural chain reaction for the plagues. Very possible. Until, of course, we get to the blackness that covered Egypt when the Angel of the Lord (not seen in the film) killed all of the firstborn children and livestock of the families that did not cover their door-posts with the blood of unblemished lambs. Then the natural explanations sort of fall apart. Anyway, you see my point. There was some good stuff, but most of it was action film garbage. Bale plays a better Batman than a historical Hebrew leader who is seen by most Jews as a precursor to their idea of the Messiah and by all Christians as a primary archetype of Y'shua (Jesus) the Messiah. This is not to say that Charlton Heston was ever a great anything that he played, but at least Cecil B. DeMille made an attempt to follow the received documents. I give this one a 2 out of 10, but only because of the really great CGI effects. Guess that might show you in yet another way what I believe is the most important part of telling any story received from our ancestors and ancients.

Erik P An excellent film. It was beautifully filmed,acted and written. Christian Bale was a fulfilling choice as moses. Christians seem to be getting upity because it doesn't fit how they see the story. Scott did an amazing job of balancing between making the events seem real and plausible,and even making us wonder if Moses was really talking to God or whether it was his mind, against the events as told in the bible. Original,inspiring and beautiful.