Film Review: Remake of ‘Ben-Hur’ Can’t Find Right Tone or Pacing

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CHICAGO – In most cases, remaking a classic film is a fool’s errand that will end in disappointment for everyone involved. The greatest pitfall is the inevitable comparison between the two films. This form of cinematic suicide is becoming more prominent as cash grabs attempt to revive still relevant films. There are few stories that can and should be resurrected, but “Ben-Hur” is not among them.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

There is an undeniable sense of scale and grandeur from many of the old Hollywood epics that came out of the 1950’s and 60’s. In the magnificent time before computer-generated graphics and green screens, every set had to be physically created for a film. This gave films a sense of authenticity and depth, even when elements like the casting didn’t. Russian vampire/action film director Timur Bekmambetov (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” “Wanted”) failed to capture the Homeric pacing and attention to detail that made the 1959 “Ben-Hur” an unforgettable experience. Bekmambetov’s experience skews more to the action genre side, exchanging singular focus with shaky, fast-paced scenes.

This is the first impression the film leaves as it opens with a convulsive horse race is that it has no sense of coherent framing. This recurring theme is easily seen in the rest of the film, but you get a sense for it after seeing all the disjointed close-ups choppily edited together with all other sorts of unflattering, unsteady footage. This lack of coherent framing and pacing takes away any of the film’s graveness and immediacy and just leaves you feeling little if anything. The infamous chariot race, which was the climax of the previous remake, ends up paling in comparison to this version of the film despite all the technological advances made in film since then. You can create a beautiful world, but without a steady hand and a strong vision for guidance, it just comes off as a shell of its former self.

Continue reading for Jon Espino’s full review of “Ben-Hur”

Jack Huston is the Title Character in ‘Ben-Hur’
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Continue reading for Jon Espino’s full review of “Ben-Hur”