Freeview film of the day: Sunday 3 September – Exodus: Gods and Kings

Exodus: Gods and Kings ★★★
Premiere
9.00-11.50pm C4

If the Biblical epic fell out of fashion after a good run in the 1950s and 60s, it was resurrected by CGI in the new century, with multitudes and floods easier to rustle up. Hence Noah, the recent remake of Ben-Hur (which lacked only a star in the title role) and Ridley Scott’s dark-skied entry, a retelling of the exile of Moses and the exodus he led from Egypt. A team-written screenplay sets up Moses (Christian Bale, looking flinty and hirsute but using the transatlantic accent of a sales rep) and Ramses (a more stentorian Joel Edgerton) as brothers destined by history to become warring nemeses. Biblical boxes are ticked by the burning bush, the ten plagues (spectacularly rendered, especially the unexpected crocodile attack) and a parting of the Red Sea. Best enjoy the superannuated action and worry less about the script, which is definitely not as good as the book.