Exodus 50-minute preview

I had the opportunity to view a rough cut of 50 minutes of the new Biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings" from acclaimed director Ridley Scott ("Alien," "Thelma and Louise" and "Gladiator" among many others) and starring Oscar-winner Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramses. Though I won't assign my usual "grade" since this was an uncompleted footage, what we saw was fairly impressive, highlighted by some excellent visuals and special effects, particularly in the handling of the plagues (the frogs were actually kinda scary). Bale also looks to be strong as Moses, though many will be interested how faithful the film will be to the Bible stories - will it channel Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner or will it meet the same wrath as Darren Aronofksy's "Noah," which still made money in spite of the many evangelical groups that lambasted it. The sublime visuals don't surprise, this is Scott's forte, but we will if the rest of the film holds up as well. I'm eagerly anticipating its December release.