 The Prince of Egypt (1998) Here's the problem: the film opens with a disclaimer that explains how the filmmakers consulted with every spiritual leader in the known universe to ensure sensitivity. That should have been a clear warning sign. It's hard enough to make a decent film when just one megalomaniac is in complete control (see Amistad), and increasingly difficult as dozens of agendas converge on a single, highly-charged topic. I say "highly-charged" only because the Bible is involved. The story of Moses is among the best known and least controversial Bible stories – every Christian, Muslim, and Jew can point to it as a source of the original persecution, and it offers a perfectly good justification for military action even some 4 thousand years later. It's not like the story of Jesus, which often brings out the worst in people. Moses is a hero we can all get behind, and in this movie he's gallant and bold, tall and sturdy and attractive, sentimental yet tough, but fair, and only slightly conflicted. Snore. Moses is voiced by Val Kilmer in increasingly hushed and reverent tones, while Ralph Fiennes plays his older "brother" Rameses (insert condom joke here), destined for the Pharaoh's throne, in a progression of bravado to defiance (and looking suspiciously like Yul Brynner). The story involves the conflict between the two brothers, who are at first affectionate rivals, and immature young men with no sense of consequences (when they accidentally deface a monument, it is the Hebrews who suffer in having to rebuild it). Eventually, Moses learns who he really is from his real sister Miriam (Sandra Bullock), and casts himself out into the wilderness, where he meets the kindly Jethro (Danny Glover) and his free-spirited daughter Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer), whom he takes as a wife. We know Tzipporah is free-spirited because she has the same loose-fitting costume throughout, dances with scarves and veils, and probably doesn't even wear a bra! We know Moses is maturing when he grows a full beard and carries a big walking stick. We know Rameses isn't maturing because his appearance and demeanor don't change at all. As usual in epics-by-committee, the real story is a lot more interesting. Unlike movie Moses, "real" Moses had a speech impediment and was so incredibly shy that he had his brother Aaron (here a neurotic Jeff Goldblum) speak on his behalf. Furthermore, Moses was a conflicted Bible hero whose arguments with God, and temper, resulted in him never being allowed to actually enter the Land of Israel. Also, I just found out that Moses and Rameses never actually grew up as brothers! Sensitivity my ass – Prince of Egypt is all lies!!! And while Rabbi Mussman would be proud of my Bible retention, the fact is that, like a hit song that's been played 8 million times, as interesting as the story is on an intellectual or even spiritual basis, it's been told so many times there's not much left to get excited about. I guess that's why they made it an animated film – Illustrated Classics with a Hollywood budget. So why does it play like Sunday school? As with the opening disclaimer: too much damn reverence, that's why. The animation itself is fine, with a few truly amazing moments, such as the parting of the Red Sea. But it certainly doesn't come anywhere near the lavish beauty of the early production sketches. Exactly why do big animated films end up all looking alike?? Plus, there are far too many scenes packed with long close-ups on the animated characters, as if they somehow act better if you hold on them longer. Probably my biggest beef with Prince of Egypt, more so than anything else I've mentioned, is the Ten Plagues. Aside from the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Plagues is the most dramatic and exciting sequence – water turning to blood, livestock dying in the field, swarms of insects and frogs, hail, darkness, bedwetting, etc. But the plagues take up maybe ten minutes of screen time, mostly in the background. Even God, vengeful as he is in the Bible, sounds mostly sweet and reasonable here. I mean, come on people. Give us a just little excitement. I swear it was so much like Sunday school I was about to start writing on my desk before I realized I didn't have a desk to write on. Why the hell do you need to go to the movies for that?
Review by Crimedog |