I was somewhat disappointed when I saw this at the cinema and I speak as an admirer of Ridley Scott. I even liked both "Prometheus" and "The Counsellor".
The special effects depicting the plagues that beset Egypt were superb but, ultimately, I found the film wanting compared to Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956). I'm not a religious person but I think that to be effective in telling a biblical story, you have to go for broke and actually show the events to have been the work of God, rather than trying to rationalize them for a modern audience.
The biggest problem I had was the casting of the two leads. In portraying such larger than life characters as Moses and Rameses the Great, you need actors of a similar stature. That was achieved in the earlier film with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner but both Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton in the newer film just couldn't compete. Both can be fine actors but in this film they seemed miscast.
As a completist, I may well end up getting this when the price is right. I would, however, prefer a new Steelbook release of "The Ten Commandments", preferably with the original poster art. I have the earlier French Steelbook release but apart from the title being in French, it also lacks interior artwork, while the front artwork is identical to that of the standard international releases, instead of the original poster art. Surprised actually that Paramount haven't tried to cash in on Fox's release by recycling their own.
GAAHHHH sick of HMV releases.
