Leap of faith

An agnostic film director pumps new life into the biblical Exodus, riding a blockbuster wave in a hit-and-miss epic, the Associated Press reports in New York.

To what do we owe the second coming of the biblical epic?

A genre that was once as moldy as stale communion wafers has been reborn this year, first with Darren Aronofsky's Noah and now with Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings. The resurrection is partly to capitalize on the faith-based moviegoing audience and partly because the Bible offers stories suited to this blockbuster era, offering both spectacle and name-brand familiarity.