Weeks before its release in 1997, Titanic got an enormous amount of bad press. People cited budgetary issues, production delays, and how the movie was going to flop. Nonetheless, not only did Titanic win several awards, including an Oscar for Best Picture, it also became the top-grossing film in history. It held that position for 12 years until it was dethroned by another James Cameron film, Avatar.
In the late 1980s, controversies surrounded Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation Of Christ before it hit theaters. Among other issues, there was a rumor about a controversial scene involving Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. People were attacking and criticizing the film for blasphemy, yet they hadn't even seen the movie, and several countries even banned the film.
The Biblical story of Moses is one of the greatest ever told in human history. A prince of Egypt learned that he was born in slavery and set out on a journey to free his people. Two notable film adaptations are The Ten Commandments from 1956 and the animated movie from Dreamworks, The Prince Of Egypt.
From producer and director Ridley Scott, Exodus: Gods and Kings is another epic film about Moses, but it, too, had its share of controversy. People accused it of being "whitewashed," yet the cast members from the highly acclaimed The Ten Commandments were also mostly white. Some people didn't like how God was portrayed as an 11-year old child, but it appears God in the film was communicating through the child, not as a child.
Whatever the reasons may be, in my opinion, Exodus: Gods and Kings is still among Ridley Scott's best films, which includes the classics Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator. Modern visual effects technology allowed Scott and production crew to envision the plagues not possible in the 1950s, further enhancing the storytelling. And they may not be of Middle Eastern descent, but the brilliant cast features Christian Bale and Joel Edgarton, who played the two close brothers who would soon turn into enemies.
Conformity breeds mediocrity. It's easier to jump on the bandwagon and bash a movie than defend the merits of a film at the expense of potentially getting ridiculed. Often, charlatans try to describe the acting, writing, or lighting being "bad" in a film, but seeing the movie myself, I've found their remarks to be flat out wrong. This is why I prefer to use the five-star rating system for movies because, in reality, a film never completely "sucks" or is "garbage," as many people like to say.
The harsh criticisms some movies receive are often unwarranted, and many movie critics are kind of a plague in themselves. I don't nitpick about trivial details, and as alluded to in the post for Anna & The King, I'm not overly concerned about the historical accuracy of a film. When people are so blindly dismissive, negative, and cynical towards movies, they could miss the opportunity of appreciating a great film, like Exodus: Gods and Kings. I judge movies based mostly on their overall entertainment value, and I hope in time most other folks will do the same.
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