Dylan Cohen

Mrs. Hope
World Literature and Writers Workshop
9 November 2015
Exodus: Gods and Kings Movie Analysis
With the enthralling tale of the strife between a man of God and a man of power, Exodus:
Gods and Kings captivates the story of Moses, a prophet, and Ramses II, a pharaoh, from the
second book of the Old Testament and the Torah. Exodus begins as two Egyptian princes, Moses
and Ramses, are raised together as brothers; however, Ramses claims his fathers throne as
Pharaoh upon his death, as Moses is not of their blood. As a result, Moses becomes his most
trusted adviser, yet it will not be for long. The old prince of Egypt soon learns of his Hebrew
heritage, and at the time, his people were enslaved by the Egyptian government - Ramses. The
second Moses secret emerges; the Pharaoh banishes him to the deserts despite their history as
brothers. Nonetheless, God has an undertaking for Moses: Free the Israelites - his people - from
slavery. As God unleashed the ten plagues on Egypt, Moses returned from his exile and
demanded his people go; it was only when Ramses child died, the last plague, he agreed.
Regretting this decision, the Pharaoh released his army on the fleeing Hebrews, and only with
the miracles of God were the Israelites able to escape the forces of Egypt. Undoubtedly, Exodus:
Gods and Kings effectively uses the religion of Judaism to impact the characters; however, it is

my understanding that the religion or more specifically, the Exodus, was not portrayed
efficiently.
Exodus: Gods and Kings incorporates the Jewish culture as the story it depicts is Jewish
in its origin. The story of the Exodus comes from the Torah, a holy book and written law of the
Jews, and the movie serves as an illustration of Hebrew beliefs. Thus, the characters are affected
by the Judaic faith. For example, Moses mission throughout the course of the movie was given
by God - the one God of Judaism. Moses would have no purpose if it werent for his Hebrew
parentage; he would not have been banished and he would not have had the motivation or powers
to free the Israelites. Not only does Judaism impact Moses, Ramses also feels the wrath of the
almighty God; however, God is his enemy. He commissions ten plagues to devastate the
Egyptian government, including boils, locusts, seas of blood, and even frogs, yet the worst of
them all is the death of all non-Hebrew first borns. When the Pharaohs child yields to Gods
punishment, Ramses is cast in a state of melancholy and mourning - feeling the influence of God
and the Israelites. Overall, Exodus: Gods and Kings distinctively uses the religion of Judaism to
guide the characters in glory or shame and impacting their lives for better or worse.
Regardless of the movies success in using religion to influence the characters, Exodus:
Gods and Kings failed at depicting Judaism efficiently. To begin with, an iconic moment from
the Exodus is Moses first revelation with God, as He speaks to Moses through a burning bush;
however, in the movie, Moses is approached by a boy, a child who speaks as if he were the
Almighty. Furthermore, the ten plagues were not portrayed correctly nor in its entirety, as only
eight/nine plagues are depicted in the film. In the Torah, the first plague followed Aaron (Moses
biological brother) as he was instructed to stretch his staff over the Nile to turn the water into

blood; rather, the motion picture reimagined that hundreds of crocodiles went insane and as a
result to a violent killing frenzy, the river turned to blood. Lastly, the most important character,
Moses, in my belief, was not represented correctly. In the biblical stories, the former Egyptian
prince was illiterate and inarticulate, but the film portrays Moses as a courageous, capable
communicator as seen when he deliver a speech before parting the Red Sea. All in all, Exodus:
Gods and Kings does an insufficient job of portraying the story of the Exodus in its biblical form,
even though it was successful in using Judaism to impact the characters within the story.