December 12, 2024, marks the 10th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s panned historical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings. New to Tubi on December 1, it’s worth reflecting on why the film failed to resonate among critics and audiences. After all, the story is ripped right out of the Christian Bible, the highest-selling book of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet, not even Scott’s directorial skills, expensive budget, and star-studded cast could lead the film to salvation.

Instead, Exodus: Gods and Kings remains one of Scott’s least successful historical dramas in terms of critical appeal. Fortunately, Scott has rebounded with the recent release of Gladiator II, a successful sequel to the Best Picture-winning Gladiator in 2000. But if the past is a prologue, Scott may want to heed the prevailing wisdom that left fans fleeing from Exodus rather than embracing it. Then again, as a maverick filmmaker in his mid-80s, Ridley Scott has proven that he does not care about what others say about his cinematic output.

What Is ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ About?
Exodus: Gods and Kings Release Date December 12, 2014 Runtime 150minutes

Directed and produced by Ridley Scott, Exodus: Gods and Kings is a biblical epic released on December 12, 2014. Loosely based on the book of Exodus, the story concerns the prophet Moses (Christian Bale) leading the Hebrews on a massive pilgrimage out of Egypt, where they’ve been tortured and enslaved.

As Moses rebels against Egypt and leads the Jewish population toward the Red Sea, he channels God’s wrath to fend off enemies. Also vowing to protect his brother Ramses II (Joel Edgerton) and honor his father Seti’s (John Turturro) legacy, Moses becomes the heroic leader after turning on his people. Several other biblical figures feature prominently, including Nun (Sir Ben Kingsley), Tuya (Sigourney Weaver), Malak (Isaac Andrews), Joshua (Aaron Paul), Viceroy Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), Nefertari (Golshifteh Farahani), and many more.

Despite the long-held appeal of the ancient bible story, Exodus: Gods and Kings failed to strike a chord among the millions who saw it in the theater during Christmas 2014. The movie was not a box office success, grossing $268.2 million worldwide on a $140-200 million budget (via The Numbers). Yet, a deeper look at the movie’s tepid critical and general moviegoing response points to everything from a whitewashing controversy to poor pacing, flagrant historical inaccuracies, and more.

The Critical Response to ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’

In addition to being a financial disappointment, Exodus: Gods and Kings took a critical drubbing. The film currently holds a 30% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 52 Metascore, indicating poor to mixed responses. RT’s critical consensus reads:

“While sporadically stirring, and suitably epic in its ambitions,
Exodus: Gods and Kings
can’t quite live up to its classic source material.”

The most common gripes about the film among critics included a lack of character development, wooden dialog, slow tempo, and screenplay deficiencies. More problematic, Scott was accused of ignoring the biblical source material and veering far from the Book of Exodus. As IndieWire’s review noted:

“Exodus: Gods and Kings illustrates a typical contradiction of commercial entertainment: By playing it safe, the movie fails to enrich the material, and never captures the energy that has made its narrative so captivating for millennia.”

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Similarly, The Playlist’s review added:

“Exodus: Gods and Kings is a creaky, sometimes painfully boring Old Testament slog, and finds the visionary director unable to successfully wrangle a human story out of a tale of gods and kings.”

Less patient with Scott’s brazen disregard of historical accuracy, Slant Magazine’s review states:

“It doesn’t take long to realize that Ridley Scott’s adaptation is only aiming for certain forms of credibility, and callously eschewing others.”

Beyond the biblical inaccuracies, critics couldn’t overlook the casting of Caucasian actors for Middle Eastern characters. The whitewashing controversy further strained the movie’s credibility, leaving far fewer critics to defend its limited merits. The critics who did enjoy the film hailed the performances and technical craft, but they were grossly outnumbered. The Wrap’s review addressed the casting with:

“This stodgy adaptation creaks with solemnity — not to mention reactionary casting choices — and apart from some nifty frog and locust infestations, even the special effects pale next to a wind-blown Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea.”

Although the masses helped the movie not be a complete disaster at the box office, they too were unimpressed with Exodus: Gods and Kings’ results.

Audience Response to ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’

Exodus: Gods and Kings currently has a 35% Popcorn Meter audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many casual filmgoers agreeing with the critics. A common complaint is that, in trying to appease every worldwide audience member, the movie loses the strength of its Biblical inspiration. As Ana E notes:

“Exodus: Gods and Kings isn’t going to be enjoyed by the faithful OR anyone else. The filmmakers forgot that they needed to tell a story. Nothing happens for a good reason. We don’t get any historical background. We don’t get secondary characters to care about. We don’t get adventure. You’ll spend most of this movie hoping it will end soon.”

Agreeing with the sentiment is Korra N, who adds:

“One of Ridley Scott’s biggest misfires, Exodus: Gods and Kings is full of gorgeous imagery and epic production values, but white-washing and uninspired writing make this biblical epic forgettable. If you just want spectacle, you can do worse, but outside of the visuals, cinematography and musical score, Exodus is a bland mess.”

Perhaps Rick M says it best, adding:

“A pathetic, worldly modern interpretation that has Moses as an uninspired, war-mongering, worldly man. The historical accuracy of almost every detail is totally uninspiring. Not sure what they were trying to do with this film, but it fails miserably. And what the hell was that damn kid that kept showing up?! The writers’ idea of the god of the Hebrews? A terrible depiction, from start to finish.”

Although Exodus remains among Ridley Scott’s highest-grossing movies (though its budget was far too high given the returns), it failed to connect with nearly everyone who saw it a decade ago. Exodus: Gods and Kings is streaming on Tubi.