ben-hur

Movie Review
Release on: Aug 19, 2016

Movie name	:	ben-hur
Genres	:	Adventure, Drama
Run time	:	125 min
Produced by	:	Mark Burnett
Directed by	:	Timur Bekmambetov
Music by	:	Marco Beltrami
Writers	:	Lew Wallace, Keith R. Clarke
Cinematography	:	Oliver Wood
Production	:	Bazelevs Lightworkers Media Sean Daniel Productions
Countries	:	USA

Synopsis
Reviews (1)

Stars : Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, Pilou AsbÃ¦k, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Morgan Freeman, Marwan Kenzari, Moises Arias, James Cosmo, Haluk Bilginer, David Walmsley, Yasen Atour, Francesco Scianna, Gabriel Lo Giudice, Denise Tantucci, Jarreth J. Merz, Iaon Gunn, Dato Bakhtadze, Yorgos Karamihos, Christopher Jones, Craig Peritz, Simone Spinazze, Alan Cappelli Goetz, Jay Natelle, Julian Kostov, Maurice Lee, Stefano Scherini, Alessandro Giuggioli, Giorgio Bonelli, Aleksandrs Petukhovs, Ed Hendrik, Nico Toffoli, Francesco Volpi

Story : Judah Ben-Hur, a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

First off, it must be said that this film cannot and will not hope to replace the 1959 one that had Charlton Heston play the titular character. That movie, stretched over almost four hours was epic in every sense. But Huston does do a pretty decent job of essaying the role of Ben Hur with a degree of conviction. Kebbell's Messala is suitably nasty, as he treacherously turns upon Ben Hur, motivated by silly and petty reasons.
The other key characters - Ben Hur's wife Esther (Boniadi) and mother Naomi (Zurer) - also put in a convincing show. But you might end up wishing that the both of them got a bit more screen time. Ben-Hur takes its time to build up. Indeed the first half takes its time to gather pace. But the second half is where the action really gets going. It's almost like the movie suddenly shifts from first to fourth gear. Ben Hur is made to serve as a slave on a Roman galley. He is then rescued by Ilderim (Freeman) after being shipwrecked and rebuilds his life. Incidentally, a naval battle scene also deserves note, for it is quite nicely rendered. And the famed chariot race itself, where Messala and Ben Hur take each other on, makes this movie worthwhile. The intensity of that spectacle, combined with the awesome scale and majesty of the amphitheater, is beautifully done. It is literally edge-of-the-seat stuff

( 3 / 5 ) Read full review

ben-hur

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