Review of Ben-Hur (2016) by Stuart M — 15 Sep 2016
Really really boring. In focusing on the revenge story to the exclusion of all else the film removes all scale and depth from the concept. The chariot race is the highlight of the film (as it should be) but instead of being the culmination of the drama the drama feels like just the setup for the chariot chase.
Superfluous elements like the conflict between a Roman life and a Jewish one, destiny, faith, and charity, are all excised or downsized. Judah goes from being (excessively) noble to being (excessively) stupid.
Messala benefits from being given real motivation, but in the end is never allowed to do anything with it. And Morgan Freeman speaks entirely in (modern) cliches. The chariot race is fun, and the following ten minutes or so are amusing for the rushed and slapdash way they cram the entire Jesus/leprosy subplots in, but aside from that the film is just tedious to watch.
It doesn't even have enough stupid bits to be considered so bad it's good.
This review of Ben-Hur (2016) was written by Stuart M on 15 Sep 2016.
Ben-Hur has generally received mixed reviews.
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