Every Ridley Scott Movie Ranked Worst To Best

24. Exodus: Gods And Kings (2014)

If film-making were solely an exercise in making things look epic, Exodus: Gods And Kings would be classed as a cinematic wonder. It is stunning at times, affording the director full scope to put together some epic, gorgeous shots and the kind of slick spectacle that unites all of Scott's later work.

Sadly, the substance isn't really there to match either the visuals or the acting performances that struggle manfully against a light-weight, cliched script that struggles badly to hide the disinterest of the director. Quite why he thought being a devout atheist was the right launch-pad to tell the story of Moses is anyone's guess, even if the idea of him bringing the same flair for sand and sandals epics as he showed in Gladiator was initially quite exciting.

Instead of telling a religious story and marketing it to a devout audience, Scott reframed the story as an action spectacular, smashing together the Old Testament and the popcorn blockbuster world, without managing anything new or really of note. Its failure at the box office and with critics was entirely unsurprising.