Miracle of miracles, "Exodus: Gods And Kings," is actually quite good.

There are plenty of miracles in Director Ridley Scott's reimagining of the Torah story, beginning in 1300 B.C., about the Jews' travails and travels to Canaan, the "Promised Land."You want miracles? "Exodus: Gods And Kings" got miracles.There's the Burning Bush (glowing like a blue-light Christmas tree), the parting of the Red Sea (depicted with tornadic activity-spawned tsunami) and the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai (with Moses going all arts and craftsy with a hammer of the Gods on the tablet).You want plagues? "Exodus: Gods And Kings" got plagues.There's the Nile turning blood-red (aquatic life washes up dead), boils (looking like bad sunburns), frogs (the Egyptians are hopping mad) and locusts (buzz-worthy), among the 10 plagues.Fortunately, there are no troglodytes meet Transformers creatures who director Darren Aronofsky believed helped build the ark in his version of "Noah" (2014).The settings in "Exodus," including the Egyptian pyramids and Jewish slave camps, appear detailed and authentic. The vistas of the ancient world, admittedly computer-generated, are magnificent. There's also a lot of action. "Exodus" is a kind of eastern western.Director Ridley Scott (Oscar director nominations: "Black Hawk Down," 2001; "Gladiator," 2000; "Thelma & Louise," 1991, and also noted for "Blade Runner," 1982, and "Alien," 1979) mostly plays "Exodus" by the book, "the" book, The Bible, or at least "The Book Of Exodus" in the Torah.The screenplay by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (cowriters, "Tower Heist," 2011), Jeffrey Caine ("The Constant Gardener," 2005) and Steven Zaillian (Oscar screenplay recipient, "Schindler's List") dutifully follows the Biblical story line. There's no credit for God, or "The Book Of Exodus" or its writers.Moses is presented as a flawed man, albeit perhaps the world's first superhero.There's at least one major difference in Ridley Scott's interpretation of "Exodus." Tah-dah! Spoiler Alert! God, or his representative, appears to Moses (the always excellent Christian Bale) as a boy (played by Isaac Andrews). While this may be startling, it shouldn't be surprising. After all, Christian faith espouses that God took the form of a baby in a manger.Is Ridley Scott interpreting what Christians call the Old Testament Exodus story through the lens of the New Testament as do Christians? Probably not, since Ridley Scott has said he's an agnostic.Religion debates aside, "Exodus" should hold your interest. There should be no mass exodus to the exit.Of course, nobody's going to erase the image of Charlton Heston as Moses in director Cecil B. de Mille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956). Ridley Scott takes a more psychological, realistic and humanistic approach to Moses. For example, Moses' encounters with God are only seen by him. Others see Moses talking to thin air. The rapport between Moses and his wife humanizes the leader.Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight Rises," 2012; "The Dark Knight," 2008; "Batman Begins," 2005) gives yet another one of his amazing performances as Moses. Bale has such a strong on-screen presence. He anchors the role with his quiet gaze, solid athletic physique (compare this to the schlumpy appearance he achieved in his Oscar-nominated role in "American Hustle," 2013) and authoritative voice.Joel Edgerton is pivotal as Pharoah Ramses. He presents a conflicted personality, which makes the leader more believable.In supporting roles are Ben Kingsley as Jewish patriarch Nun, John Turturro as Egyptian Pharoah Seti, Sigourney Weaver as Seti's wife Tuya and María Valverde as Moses' wife Zipporah."Exodus: Gods And Kings" is an epic in the style of traditional Hollywood movie-making. I found the film to be illuminating. It made me want to turn to the primary source material."Exodus: Gods And Kings," MPAA Rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13.) for violence including battle sequences and intense images; Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama; Run time: 2 hours, 30 mins.; Distributed by 20th Century Fox.Credit Readers Anonymous: "Exodus: Gods And Kings" was filmed on location in Spain and at Pinewoods Studio, England.Box Office, Dec. 19: Weekend box office results were unavailable because of the early Christmas Day holiday deadline for the Focus section.Unreel, Dec. 24, 25, 26:"Unbroken," PG-13: Angelina Jolie directs the biopic about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became a Japanese prisoner of war in World War II."Selma," PG-13: The Martin Luther King-led Civil Rights marches in Selma, Alabama, are chronicled. Ava DuVernay directs David Oyelowo as the iconic leader. Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Sheen, Cuba Gooding Jr., Giovanni Ribisi and Lorraine Toussaint co-star."Into The Woods," PG: The Stephen Sondheim musical based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tales gets the big-screen star treatment as Rob Marshall directs Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine and Emily Blunt."American Sniper," R: Clint Eastwood is back to direct Bradley Cooper as a Navy SEAL in the war biopic."Big Eyes," PG-13: Tim Burton directs Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams in the biopic drama about painter Margaret Keane, whose large-eyed waifs were so popular."The Interview," R: Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the comedy about a TV show host and producer who interview North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. On the way to Pyongyang, the CIA recruits them to assassinate Kim Jong-un.Read Paul Willistein's movie reviews at the Lehigh Valley Press web site, thelehighvalley-press.com; the Times News website, tnonline.com; and hear them on "Lehigh Valley Art Salon," 6 6:30 p.m. Mondays, WDIY 88.1 FM, and wdiy.org, where they're archived.Email Paul Willistein:

pwillistein@tnonline.com. You can follow Paul Willistein on Twitter and friend Paul Willistein on Facebook.Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes