At Least The Robes Were Nice! Testament: The Story of Moses (2024) Series Review

Image Credit: Netflix

While it aims for epic, it often lands somewhere between Sunday school pageant and a surprisingly good costume party. This three-episode series tries to give us a fresh take on the Exodus narrative, but frankly, it feels less like a divine revelation and more like a creative writing exercise gone wild.

The series struts its stuff with some truly outstanding costume design, easily the highlight. However, once you look past the threads, the acting veers into territory that’s sometimes hilariously amateurish, especially with the extras. It’s almost as if they pulled people off the street and said, “Look dramatically at that sand dune!”

Visually, the CGI and scene work are nice enough, but despite the digital polish, the whole thing still screams “location set” rather than ancient Egypt. It’s a weird paradox where everything looks good, yet nothing quite feels real.

Now, for the experts. They’ve brought in scholars from various faiths, which sounds great on paper. But in practice, their interpretations lean heavily into the fantastical, closer to campfire myths than historical fact. They talk a good game about fresh perspectives, yet the show often ditches historical authenticity for the writer’s wildest imaginings. It’s like watching a documentary where the historians suddenly decide to start making up their own plot twists.

Speaking of twists, there was an interesting moment where a Jewish expert opined on the immorality of taking joy in others’ suffering, even those who’ve wronged you. This particular gem struck a chord, feeling acutely ironic given certain real-world actions where innocent lives are lost, and the perpetrators, who initiated the conflict, seem to relish it like a joyride. The sheer hypocrisy on display is, shall we say, a testament to… well, something vile.

This series suffers from a classic case of what I’ve come to call “Netflix-isms.” While entertaining in parts as it recounts the Exodus, the immersion consistently breaks. For example, the sets, while initially passable, reveal their budget constraints upon closer inspection. Those hieroglyphs in Pharaoh’s palace? They look like they were drawn by Mr. Bean during that particularly uninspired art class. And then there are the bizarre camera angles and extreme close-ups during expert interviews, coupled with the narrative often completely disregarding what the experts just said. It’s like the show has an expert fact-checker, but then just throws their notes in the bin.

All in all, Testament offers a modicum of entertainment, but it could have been so much more. It’s a series that tantalizes with potential but ultimately delivers a disjointed narrative and a frustratingly unpolished execution.

Rating: 5.4/10

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