Review of Ben-Hur (2016) by Thaddaeus D — 17 Aug 2016

Should there be a law against remaking classic movies? Perhaps they should be left untouched, like master paintings done by great artists. After all, filmmaking is a form of art. It's not like anyone is taking a paint brush to one of Picasso's or Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces and updating it for today's audiences. So why do that with other art forms such as film? I'm struggling for an answer. After the first fifteen minutes, I wanted to walk out. Really. Walk out.

I made myself stay put, agonizing over the beginning of the tale with new actors and a different beginning until they were all arrested and sentenced. The only time I perked up was when Judah was chained in the galley for a short-run of rowing. The iconic line of, "We keep you alive to serve this ship," was never spoken. (Actually, I was thinking you keep me alive suffering to see this movie so I can write a review.).