Religious believers, both Jewish and Christian, feel inevitably intrigued by the release of the spectacular new movie EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, featuring Oscar-winner Christian Bale as Moses, and directed by Ridley Scott.

The question of whether it’s worth seeing depends on your tolerance for liberties with the Biblical text. Scripture makes it clear, for instance, that Moses never sees God’s face but in the movie the Lord takes the form of an all-knowing, arrogant small boy. The film also leaves an open question as to whether Moses hears God’s authentic voice—or actually suffers delusions following a head injury.

The movie also follows elements of authentic tradition—suggesting that skeptics could view the miraculous elements of the Exodus as coincidences—and clearly leaves that same choice to the viewer.

Cinematically, this EXODUS is brilliant and moving, raising deeper emotions about this sacred story than THE TEN COMMANDMENTS from 58 years ago.