Film Preview: Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

December 12, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “An account of Moses’ hand in leading the Israelite slaves out of Egypt.”

Poster: B / B- (2) / C+ / C (2) / C / C-

Review: All three designs share a theme, with the actors in black-and-white and their golden and bejeweled accouterments in color. It’s a stylish concept infrequently used, though I can see why some may not care much for them. These are definitely eye-of-the-beholder kind of designs.

(#4) A tête-á-tête between the film’s two central figures make this a battle between will with an obvious victor. Everyone’s heard of Christian Bale, not everyone has heard of Joel Edgerton, thus he must be the bad guy. Right?

(#5-#6) These posters are a precursor to the prior design and would likely sit on opposite sides of another design or display or just side-by-side in an obvious battle of wills and personalities.

(#7-#8) A continued focus on the cataclysmic natural events in the two films are strewn across both of these last two designs. The tornadoes in the background have little to do with the setting of the eighth design and just clutter the background in the seventh. That said, the seventh is slightly better if only because it has more detail and feels more traditional.

Trailer: B+ / B / B-

Review: (#1) Hyping itself on the events that take place during Moses’ life in Egypt and in exile from it, the trailer is a frenetic, fast-paced adventure that evokes gorgeous imagery from familiar set pieces. This should be a good starting point for selling the film.

(#2) Shifting more into the action-heavy elements of the plot, which make it seem more divergent from the source material, this second trailer doesn’t have the verve and emotional resonance of the first trailer. It feels just a slight bit more hollow. Seeing too much of the plague details only weakens my interest. Leaving something for the audience to enjoy within the film is crucial for broad acceptance.

(#3) This year, trailers have been getting progressively worse from their initial offerings. This trailer emphasizes the action elements, which put the biblical ones into the background. That might work for non-religious audiences, but the foundation of box office success is appealing to everyone.

Oscar Prospects:

Ridley Scott may be positioned to make his first major Oscar appearance since Gladiator 14 years ago. It’s been a long time since a Biblical adaptation went over huge at the Oscars, but with Noah a overly controversial film, Exodus has the right chemistry to become a threat.