Scott’s seventh clip is his bread and butter – the inevitable plagues that ravage Egypt. Starting with the river of blood, mounds of dead fish start piling up as Rhamses and his consultants attempt to bless the curse away. Next comes the wave of hopping frogs, waking Rhamses and his wife in the dead of night. The frogs are nothing compared to the swarms of flies and locusts that follow, decimating what crops remain while feeding off the rotted corpses of fish, cattle and other livestock. Moses and Joshua watch as Egypt falls victim to God’s might, brought on by a Pharaoh’s own insolence – a gruesome spectacle that paints a bloody landscape.
The eighth clip drives home Rhamses’ stubbornness, as Moses comes with a final warning about God’s remaining plague. Rhamses, showing boils on his body after suffering through most of the disasters, again heeds no warning. Moses suggests he keep a watchful eye on his baby son, as we all know what a bummer God’s last plight turns out to be.
The final clip of Exodus: Gods And Kings follows Rhamses’ pursuit of Moses and the escaping slaves. Making their way towards the Red Sea, the convoy of carriages behind Rhamses succumbs to the most dangerous cliffside road imaginable. One carriage wrecks itself, only to start a chain reaction capped off by a massive landslide that wipes out many of Rhamses’ soldiers. Pressing onward, Moses sees the advancing threat and commands his people to keep moving, which leads to the fabled “Parting Of The Red Sea.” I wasn’t granted a great glimpse (a whipping cyclone and massive waves), but I’m thankful because I really want some surprises going into the film upon its theatrical screening.
About forty minutes worth of footage was shown in piecemeal, but together the content teaches us a lot about Ridley Scott’s upcoming epic. For starters, I know there’s an endless controversy surrounding casting, but everyone seems to aptly embody their roles. Choosing Edgerton to play a Pharaoh certainly can be considered outside-the-box thinking, but every scene suggests that Scott’s choice will be proven correct.
Another name I didn’t mention previously is Ben Mendelsohn’s, an Australian actor who plays a character that’s suggested to be corrupt. I love Mendelsohn as a character actor, and his flamboyant nature pairs nicely with Egyptian extravagance and inflated egos – another strange yet rewarding choice. Whether these characters can remain enticing throughout the entire film is yet to be proven, but in smaller bites, Bale and company are looking to prove the naysayers wrong.
Exodus: Gods And Kings impresses most through visual scaling, which is the most important factor I took away from the clip screening. From the Pharaoh’s temple to Egypt’s rivers running red with blood, Ridley Scott made me forget that the footage was considered incomplete – despite us being told every few minutes. Movies like Renny Harlin’s The Legend Of Hercules and Paul W. S. Anderson’s Pompeii struggle to build ancient 3D worlds worth getting excited over, yet from what I’ve seen, it looks as if Scott has successfully transported us back to Egypt’s early years. The images of rotting fish polluting endless fields are still crossing my mind, but the majestic beauty of extravagant Pharaohs also captures the gargantuan palaces and shimmering gold details that separated kings from mortals. Scott has captured an entire era in a bottle, letting audiences travel backwards for a truly immersive period experience.
With Exodus: Gods And Kings releasing December 12th, there’s still plenty of time for Ridley Scott and his team to touch-up every last buzzing fly, but only time will tell if the entire production will cohesively build one of the most epic watches of 2014. It’s got the potential, but I’m just hoping this handful of clips doesn’t represent the best and brightest moments from the upcoming picture – although I somehow doubt that.
