'Exodus: Gods and Kings' Criticized For Being Biblically Inaccurate

Ridley Scott's newly released film "Exodus: Gods and Kings" is reportedly receiving mixed reviews, especially in regard to an improper representation of the Bible and the story of Moses in Egypt.

The film, starring Christian Bale as Moses, will open this weekend in North America. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is expected to earn less than another recent Bible-themed film, "Noah." The Hollywood Reporter state that while "Noah" earned $44.7 million during its debut, "Exodus" is supposed to rake in the $25 to $30 million range.

An opinion article by Joel Baden and Candida Moss for CNN suggests that Scott does "whitewash" the Bible in his new film by making all of the main actors white, even though the Bible describes all Jews as Mesopotamian.

Some religious scholars have even encouraged viewers to boycott the film. "As much as I love a good Bible movie, I'm going to go ahead and boycott this one," Sigal Samuel wrote for the Jewish Daily Forward. "And I invite my fellow Jews to join me."

A review by the New York Daily News also criticized the film for not accurately casting characters based on race.

"It's an economic reality that Scott — whose best films remain 'Alien,' 'Blade Runner' and 'Gladiator' — couldn't cast unknown but ethnically appropriate actors in a multimillion-dollar wannabe epic, but there could still have been inspiration, like maybe Adrien Brody or Ben Foster as Moses. As for Ramses, the movie missed a chance to make 'star is born'-type headlines."