What are we to make of biblical films? They seem to be back on the agenda for a time.

Perhaps we should be grateful that these stories are still considered to be part of our cultural heritage. It appears that they can still arouse interest in a world that has lost touch with the biblical narratives. They are public ‘readings’ of Scripture that may help us to see the stories through fresh eyes and at the very least drive us, and others, back to the biblical text to see what really happened.

On the other hand these are “our stories”, and we want them told fully, truthfully. We are aware of the power of film – that intoxicating combination of sight and sound can leave us indelibly formed in terms of our understanding of the events they depict (who shot JFK?). Film can be both powerful and deceptive.

It’s tricky. So what about Exodus?

As a film Exodus: Gods and Kings majors on the spectacular. It is epic in every sense of the word, with even an epic number of CGI contributors listed in the credits. Serious money has been spent and it is all up there on screen. While we will leave the Egyptologists to debate the historical accuracy of what we saw, there is no doubt Ridley Scott can create a world and immerse the audience in it.

The story follows the mainlines of the biblical narrative with some embellishments and omissions: Moses is a guerilla resistance fighter for a time before God takes over, much of the interplay between Moses and Pharaoh in the biblical narrative is omitted. I love the commitment that Christian Bale brings to any part he plays and Joel Edgerton has the mix of swagger, self-doubt and sneer to prove to be a worthy Ramses. There is a fun game of ‘spot the actor’ to be played in the minor parts but they all feel a little wasted or at least dwarfed by the action around them.

The film is long and at times the pace is slow, but the special effects are amazing, especially the plague and battle sequences. Exodus is spectacular in every sense.

But therein lies the problem. Overall I felt more like I was watching a spectacle unfold than I was involved in a drama. It was hard to get close to it. My primary sense was one of distance.

Exodus follows a familiar cinematic trajectory, with the focus on the imaginative relationship between the two ‘brothers’, Moses and Ramses. But they are distant from one another from the start. Their relationship is not given time to breathe in the haste to get to an epic battle scene as the Egyptians attack a Hittite camp. Ramses is distant from his father and people. Moses is distant from his past and his own people and struggles to move closer. There are vast physical distances in the film as Moses is exiled to Midian and the Hebrews eventually leave their captivity. Even when it comes to the plight of the Hebrew slaves, or the Egyptian people when the plagues strike, there is a sense of distance as we watch tragedy and carnage unfold in almost newsreel fashion. We marvel at the cruelty and inhumanity (and the special effects), but the sense of distance is pervasive. It is hard to know who we should really care for in the end.

This sense of distance is compounded theologically. God is portrayed as a small boy. We watch a petulant child playing with toys, not especially involved with his people, impatient at not getting his own way. The film grapples with notions of divine justice, reflecting on the Egyptian treatment of the Hebrew slaves but tips over into a sort of pre-adolescent revenge that has even Moses blanching at the severity of what he sees around him.

The choice of a child means that we miss any sense of a God with a long history of involvement with his people. Everyone is distant from this God, the audience included as it puzzles at the choice of a child to signify the divine.

These things said it was an entertaining film and certainly worth a look.

But was Exodus a good reading of Scripture? The answer is yes and no. The portrayal of God was enigmatic and disappointing. But perhaps this is to be expected and contains within it its own lessons as we ponder how God is viewed in our own world.

On the other hand there are many elements that provoke engagement with the biblical narratives. The film graphically depicts the violence of the times… from the violence of the cruelty shown by the Egyptians through to the violence of the plagues. This poses the question as to how God can intervene in such a world and ‘do something’, working in the midst of the muck of humanity and history without being enmeshed in violence.

The portrayal of the struggle for faith and humility before God gave pause for thought. Moses’ journey to faith showed the sheer difficulty of being convinced that you have heard the voice of God. Amongst the Hebrews we caught glimpses of the difficulty of following one who claims to be communicating God’s word. Both showed the high stakes involved in these matters: life and freedom. No doubt this resonates with the struggle of many, even in the light of the clarity of God’s disclosure of himself in Jesus Christ.

In the midst of this film there was the barest hint of a cross, suggesting where this story will eventually lead. It was crushed under Ramses’ feet. But this small reference hints at the moment when this God did come close in the person of Jesus Christ, ‘did something’, came breathtakingly close, and was himself subject to the violence of humanity and the judgment of God. This action enables Christian faith in a loving, compassionate and just God at the climax of a long history of promises made and kept.

It may be too much to expect a full blown biblical theology in a mainstream epic, but this hint suggests that a distant God need not be the final word; that there is the possibility of coming close to God because he has come close to us.

Dr Bill Salier is the outgoing Vice Principal of Moore Theological College in Sydney. In 2015, he will take up a position as principal of Youthworks College.

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PLUS, see our Exodus page for Bible study guide that will help you read the biblical exodus story before (or after!) you see the movie, and a compilation of other useful resources to accompany the release of the movie.