The Bottom Line, Ministries Christian News, Articles, & Poetry A few weeks ago I wrote about the upcoming movie, “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” Unfortunately, most of the things I had mentioned as a concern (accuracy, the portrayal of Moses, etc.) were all warranted. The supposed “box office hit” ended up being a huge flop not only in the Christian world, but also within the secular.
On opening weekend it made $24.5 million. It was all downhill from there though. The actually reviews started to pour in and they weren’t friendly. On major review sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, the film didn’t reach more than 4.9 out of 10 or 52 out of 100. I’d say it wasn’t good.
Last weekend, I was standing in line at the theatre to get a gift card for a late Christmas gift. Suddenly, a women walked out of the buildings and shouted to everyone, “Don’t see Exodus, it is a waste of your time and money.” I looked up at the start time to see that she had most likely walked out of the movie after the first hour or so.
It still bothers me that Hollywood wants to take stories from the Bible like Noah and Moses and turn them into these epic war scenes with no truth behind them. I know I am beating a dead horse in this thought process. But seriously, if they wanted to make a movie about war and heroism from the Bible, why not pick any one of the battles from the Old Testament. Majority of the good ones involved the Philistines. Or perhaps the battles that followed after the Exodus like from Joshua and Judges.
Almost every one of these battles involved plenty of blood and guts; perfect for today’s Hollywood film makers. Sadly, Hollywood will probably take a story like Jericho or David and Goliath and twist the scriptures to show less of God and more of man.
Sometimes I wish I had gone into the movie business so as to give a true portrayal of these biblical events. Although this was my background in college, God has not called me to such a path. Therefore, I am left praying for others to pick up the torch. And I believe there are plenty of young film makers out there that can get the job done.
