There was no drama in this picture. Not even Morgan Freeman and the chariot race could save this plonker...and adding the extra Christian religious material didn't help either.
You have to get past the notion of comparing it to the Heston version. The original was the greatest. Period.
But that aside, I liked the new one. It lacked the grandeur of the earlier one, but I liked the ending BETTER than the one in the original.
I read the book a millennium ago, at least, and don't recall how it wound up, but I definitely like the ending of the latest movie version. I'd love to write more about why I like it, but if I get too specific, somebody might yell "SPOILER!!"
"There are some movies that it is stupid to remake."
That reminds me of one of those "man on the street" interviews I saw a couple of months ago, where a bogus reporter asks passersby their opinion of events or movies etc. that are fictional. This reporter lady asked a passerby "What did you think of Citizen Kane II? Did you think that Kevin James was right for the part?"
It was always a very christian film. One of its weaknesses imho, even in the Heston version. But it did motivate Douglas to get Spartacus made where he didn't get the lead in Ben Hur.
1) they redid the Music Man with ferris beuler, talented vocalists, but boy was the rest of it bad
2) Then there was Return to Oz 1984 (that was just scary) 3) And then there was The Wiz, with all black people, yikes! 4) And then the Johnny depth version of Oz the great and powerful. another bomb.
5) polyanna with oprah whimphry as aunt polly (that one was just funny)
I expect someone with attempt a remake of Lawrence of Arabia (my favorite movie of all time). That would be a travesty. Peter O'Toole's performance cannot be duplicated.
Oh, my, I can't imagine trying to remake Lawrence of Arabia. That was a movie that was done so well, and that had such fine performances.
Ben Hur's earlier editions were much better than the latest remake, to me. I do wish that they would only remake movies if they can actually improve on the old one. I suppose that they all imagine that they can, but they are so often wrong.
Except for Judah and Esther riding a horse wearing J Crew shirts and skinny jeans, I didn't think it was all that bad.
I thought the characters had more layers. For instance, Masala wasn't just a tough administrator who turned on his friend. He understood he had to be tough to keep his job.
Just my 2 cents. It was different, not necessarily bad.
I will give it a chance, but will probably wait until I can rent it or see it on Netflix. I just don't see the need to remake so many movies. The original was great and except for womens' hair and makeup, it isn't dated.