Exodus: Gods and Kings
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 12, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
21
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
CineVueJoe WalshJan 8, 2015
Whilst the tone is off, and the talented cast wasted, Exodus is, at times highly entertaining, albeit unintentionally. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 11, 2014
For all of the care and imagination that have been lavished on the production, which was designed by Arthur Max and photographed by Dariusz Wolski, the film’s impact is best expressed by frequent aerial shots that are visually impressive and emotionally remote. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranDec 11, 2014
As with the DeMille ventures, enjoyment here involves managing expectations and not taking things too seriously. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 29, 2014
This is bold and uncompromising stuff from Scott; a Biblical epic to shake your faith in the order of things, not reaffirm it. Read full review
60
The GuardianCatherine ShoardNov 29, 2014
It is half turkey, half triumph. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberNov 29, 2014
No movie with such a limp ending can be fully satisfying, and the beginning also falters. But the long middle section is a rousing good show. Read full review
59
Paste MagazineScott WoldApr 3, 2018
Even with exhilarating plague montages and stomach-dropping illusions of scale amid the many battles, the characteristically brilliant shots for which the famed director is known can’t compensate for the completely tone-deaf overall result—so far removed from the days in which the filmmaker brought us Alien. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 12, 2014
When we last see a much older Moses en route to Canaan, we can at least be grateful that this film, unlike so many other movies these days, does not seem primed for a sequel. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 12, 2014
As for Bale, he seems to have lost his compass. His accent strays, his famous intensity wasted on clunky dialogue. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 12, 2014
At 2 1/2 hours, the movie is actually too short to adequately tell the full tale (The Ten Commandments is 70 minutes longer) but that doesn't prevent Scott from presenting multiple, seemingly endless scenes of people crossing deserts. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 11, 2014
Exodus is ludicrous only by accident, which isn’t much fun and is the surest sign of what we might call a New Testament sensibility at work. But the movie isn’t successfully serious, either... To be fair, there is some good stuff here, too. Mr. Scott is a sinewy storyteller and a connoisseur of big effects. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsDec 11, 2014
A handsome movie with a handsome leading man. Christian Bale is widely considered the finest actor of his generation. Yet here he’s adrift in the bulrushes. This might be the most indifferent performance of Bale’s career. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 11, 2014
the performances, even from some really good actors, are wooden, the huge CGI effects are a distraction and the best thing about the movie is the one thing that, other than the casting, will probably make the most people angry: God is a kid. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 11, 2014
Swarms of flies, oozing pustules, alligator attacks and gaggles of frogs are vividly rendered in three dimensions in Exodus: Gods and Kings. And yet this biblical epic is still bland, overly long and otherwise forgettable. Read full review
50
The DissolveKeith PhippsDec 11, 2014
Scott loses the humanity amid all the gods and kings. The setpieces, however, elevate the film around them. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyDec 10, 2014
If nothing else, Exodus: Gods And Kings makes it easier to appreciate Darren Aronofsky’s "Noah," which, for all of its flaws, was at least animated by a personal relationship to the Old Testament. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonDec 9, 2014
For a story that's pro-poor and anti-wealth, every frame of it looks like it cost as much as human life itself — and that, more than any bludgeoned battle cries for freedom, is the pleasure of the film. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnNov 29, 2014
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. Read full review
47
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeNov 29, 2014
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. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 12, 2014
As an action spectacular, Exodus is on par with Scott's other forays into ancient times, "Gladiator" and "Kingdom of Heaven." But as a believable human drama, much less a worthy exploration of Judaism's origins, it falls flat. Read full review
42
The PlaylistDrew TaylorDec 1, 2014
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. Read full review
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