Rameses (Exodus: Gods and Kings)

"They're only frogs"

- Rameses on the Second Plague

"You say that you didn't cause all this...you say this is not your fault. So let's just see who's more effective at killing.... you or me."

- Rameses to Moses about the Plagues

Rameses, the Pharaoh of Egypt, is the secondary protagonist turned the primary antagonist of the 2014 epic Biblical film Exodus Gods and Kings. He is the prince of Egypt, the son of King Seti, and he rises to become King of Egypt, and turned the enemy of Moses in the later part of the film.

He is portrayed by Joel Edgerton who also voiced Metal Beak and played Tom Buchanan.

Life with Moses
Rameses and Moses were originally adopted brothers, and loved each other. When he became a young man, Rameses was told by his father, King Seti, to lead the Egyptian Army against the invading Hittites who were encamped in the desert. King Seti set this task as a way for his son to become a proper man rather than a rebellious mischievous teenager. Rameses was a bit hesitant about the battle, especially as the Egyptian prophet had foretold from eagle entrails that a leader would arise in the battle from the Israelite peoples, and the leader would save Rameses. The battle was started, and Rameses' life was saved in the battle - by none other than his adopted brother Moses. Rameses and Moses won the battle, and drove back the Hittites. King Seti was amazed that Moses had saved his son's life and he asked Moses to sit with him, an honour.

Rameses and Moses discussed the Israelites and debated over the meaning of "Israel" in Hebrew, Rameses claimed it was "He who fights with God" but Moses said it was "He who wrestles with God." Later on, Moses was called to an Israelite meeting. There, Nun, father of Joshua and the Israelite leader, told Moses of his ancestry, and Nun told Moses how King Seti had massacred the Israelite children before Moses' birth of which Moses and Aaron were the only survivor, Moses accepted he was an Israelite and he allied with them, leaving Egypt for awhile and living in Canaan.

Ten years passed, and Moses was married to Zipporah, and one day he was told about God's Mountain nearby. Moses was full of longing to climb to the peak, and he got his wish when he lost some sheep, and ran after them, but got trapped in an avalanche and blacked out when rocks hit him. Breaking his leg and buried in quicksand, Moses was frightened, but then met God, who appeared as an eight year old boy. God was angry with the Egyptian enslavement of the Israelites so He told Moses to go and set them free. Moses returned to Egypt, against Zipporah's wish.

As King
Back in Egypt, Rameses was now King, and was enslaving his slaves worse than ever. He had taken to burning the slaves in the fires when they had proven to be too weak to work any more. Moses saw this and was shocked. So he went to Rameses who professed delight he was alive, and Moses demanded that God had said let His people free. But Rameses didn't listen, as he said that Egypt was now in an era of peace, to which Moses said was the slavery peace. So after many talks with God, the Lord unleashed His plagues, which started with the Nile turning to blood, and then ended with the darkness. Rameses still was angry at Moses for not obeying him, and ordered his family murdered, but the Israelites protected them. Rameses executed hundreds of innocent slaves on behalf of Moses. Rameses was finally warned by Moses that "something worse" was coming, and it would affect Rameses' son. Angry, Rameses asked "Is that a threat?" but Moses didn't answer.

The Last Plague arrived, and ended with the death of the first born children. Rameses was distraught, and wailed over his son's death despite his attempts to protect his son. So, Rameses demanded the Israelites leave, saying "Is this your God? A killer of children?" Rameses yelled at the Israelites to go, which they did. But soon he changed his mind, and wanted to kill the Israelites. He set out with his Army to get them back.

Hunting Moses & Death
After many perils, including an avalanche and earthquake in the mountains which destroyed some of Rameses' Army, the Pharaoh caught up with the Israelites on the Red Sea which had evaporated for Moses. Rameses rallied his men and sped over the sand to kill the slaves, but a tsunami sent by God arrived. Moses stared angrily at the tsunami, angry at God, but then ordered his people to leave. They ran for the shores and Rameses lost his Army in the tsunami. Rameses was desperate to kill Moses so they faced off as the tsunami came crashing down. Fearless, Rameses drew his sword even as all hope was lost, and he appeared to die an honorable death when he raised his arms to Heaven as he got engulfed.

However, Rameses was revealed to have survived the tsunami, being washed up back in Egypt, where he mused over how he was once a great leader.

Trivia

 * Rameses is portrayed by Joel Edgerton, who also voiced Metal Beak in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.
 * The movie is a live-action version of The Prince of Egypt.