Exodus – Gods and Kings: Naïve & Devoid of Content

This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard! 

Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss our latest Patron-Selected movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings! Can Ridley Scott give this paramount Bible story the Gladiator treatment? Does it play fast and loose with the historical account? Was it, at the very least, enjoyable? Tune in to find out!

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 33-minutes discussing the various drama leading up to Snow White (2025)’s release as well as it’s Rotten Tomato Score debut. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• Shirleon, “I hated it. I hated the direction that it went.”
• Melvin, “It’s super rare to find movies that feel like they’re devoid of content.”
• What deflates the material is how remedial it is compared to the rich complexities of the Biblical text.
• A follow-up to criticism’s mentioned in the Journey to Bethlehem episode regarding bible-reading statistics.
• The film doesn’t just mischaracterize historical figures, it mischaracterizes biblical figures, texts, and God Himself, all in ways that can’t be considered concessions of the medium.
• Melvin talks about the one scene in the movie he liked.
• The two agree: It’s not just a bad biblical adaptation, it’s also a bad movie.

Recommendations:

• Read Exodus from the Bible
• The Prince of Egypt (1998) (Movie) (Cinematic Doctrine Episode)
• The Ten Commandments (1956) (Movie)
• The Midnight Meat Train (2008) (Movie)

Exodus: Gods and Kings is Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images. It features Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Zipporah, Isaac Andrews, Hiam Abbass, and Indira Varma. Directed by Ridley Scott. Exodus: Gods and Kings is available here.

Consider supporting Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon! As a bonus, you can gain access to a once-a-month movie poll where you decide a movie we discuss on the podcast, early unedited episodes of the podcast, and merch!!

Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

Cinematic Doctrine is available on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast apps.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish – "I will not remember this film." – Cinematic Doctrine: A Movie Review Podcast Hosted by Christians

Send us a Question!PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION: This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard! Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss an underseen 2020 anime flick, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish! Why a tiger? What's the fish? Who's a Josee? All these questions – about romance, symbolism, and if the two even liked the movie – and more are answered in this finale episode to Ani-May! Tune in!Topics:(FREE PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 35-minutes discussing how audience interests have been changing over the years, kicking things off with The Mandalorian and Grogu's weak opening box-office numbers followed by reflecting on the last few year's tentpole flicks, both socially and commercially (FREE PATREON EXCLUSIVE)For Kathryn, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is largely innocuous and inoffensive.For Melvin, there's a few things he enjoyed but otherwise thought the film "wasn't my thing".Too much melodrama drowns out quiet romantic moments.Melvin, "All the stuff that's working is crowded out by stuff that's annoying."Breaking down the title and what each part of it means.The ending, and how the third act is really messy.Melvin feels like a particular plot development is a little too mean when considering the character's background and possible maturity.Recommendations:Tales from the Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death (2021) (Graphic Novel)Dead Grandma (2026) (Short Film) Support the showSupport on Patreon for Unique Perks! Early access to uncut episodes Vote on a movie/show we review One-time reward of two Cinematic Doctrine Stickers & PinsSocial Links: ThreadsWebsiteInstagramLetterboxdFacebook Group 

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