Review of Ben-Hur (2016) by Cowboy J — 19 Aug 2016

I'm a big classic film fan and may be in the minority here, but never really enjoyed the 1959 version OR Charlton Heston! The silent with Ramon Novarro from 1925 was wonderful, and I also really enjoyed the 2016 film! Jack Huston carries this film very well--he is a true talent, as all who saw him as Richard Harrow on "Boardwalk Empire" will attest. (If you haven't seen him on BE, I urge you to get the DVDs and watch. It's an unforgettable character.) This Ben-Hur is a gritty retelling and I appreciate that. In the course of the film, Judah goes from a privileged prince to a dirty, unshaven and starved slave and it felt authentic. The performance from Huston was thoughtful and nuanced. The scenes with Judah and Messala were terrific, and WOW--the galley scenes from the ship were intense and very well acted and directed. All of the buzz about the chariot racing was true--it was breathtaking and so exciting. Even more so when you realize that these actors really did drive those chariots, and the CGI was limited to parts where humans or animals would have been otherwise injured. The scene where Judah witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus was beyond powerful, and I'm not even a religious person--but the acting was strong and it wasn't overdone. And the scene of forgiveness between the brothers--amazing.

On the down side, the presence of Morgan Freeman threw me a bit; it didn't seem like the best casting, because he's just so...Morgan Freeman. (And those dreads were kind of dreadful.) My least favorite part was the music and soft slow motion at the end. I could definitely have done without that. The ending felt very contrived and cheesy, almost made-for-TV-movie-like and (fortunately, I suppose) did not match the strength of the rest of the film. But overall, as I left the theater, I was already planning to see it again, and felt that I'd just watched something pretty darn special.