[dropcap style=”font-size:100px; color:#992211;”]W[/dropcap]ill Exodus: Gods and Kings Fulfill Ridley Scott’s Promise?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a certain awe for the films that Ridley Scott has directed. He has the ability to do things on an epic scale which few other directors pull off. This makes me particularly excited about the upcoming release of his newest film Exodus: Gods and Kings.
The Promise
For those of you who haven’t heard, Scott has promised that this will be his biggest film yet. In fact, he used an expletive to refer to how huge it will be. That leaves a lot to live up to, even if we judge just by his own films. The new movie Exodus certainly makes it look like he will fulfill that promise.
Previous Films of Ridley Scott Awesomeness
So, if this film will be the biggest yet, how does that stack up against his previous big films?
1. Alien (1979): Yes, we are going throwback on this. But no Ridley Scott film list would be complete without mention of this one. Even following in the path of the Star Wars films, Alien gave viewers a unique and epic tale of outer space. Alien blurred lines in the film industry as well by taking science fiction and adding horror into the mix. The methods are more common today, but in 1979 this idea of genre-smashing was new. That made Alien epic (and it still is today).
2. Gladiator (2000): This film was unexpectedly epic, even to Scott. While the audience did expect some great fight scenes, no one was prepared for what hit them. It was visually stunning with grand sets and strong characters. Even Scott admits that while filming the movie he didn’t see it being as large-scale as it was. Gladiator took everyone by surprise in the best way.
3. Black Hawk Down (2001): War movies can do one of two things: connect the audience with the characters or fail miserably. There has been a mix of this in recent years, but Black Hawk Down is certainly not one of them. Not only does Scott help characters connect with the audience, but he packs the film with so much action of both big and small scales that the audience hardly has time to breathe before it’s over. I would call that an epic win.
4. Kingdom of Heaven (2005): This movie was far from the box office smash producers were hoping it would be. The story was just not as strong as it could have been, but that doesn’t exclude it from our list. This is all about going big, and if there is anything Kingdom of Heaven did right, it’s go big. This film has massive sets and epic battles. Not sold? The film was rated R for “strong violence and epic warfare.”
Will Exodus: Gods and Kings Stack Up?
After watching the film trailer, there is a sense of optimism that the answer will be yes. There are epic battles scenes, monstrous waves of water, and grandiose sets. With strong actors like Christian Bale (Moses) and Aaron Paul (Joshua) leading the way, hope is maintained.
Let’s just hope the story is strong enough to hold up the scale of the film. We don’t want another Kingdom of Heaven on our hands.
