A critical review of a disappointing Ben-Hur remake

The 2016 remake of Ben-Hur disappoints in almost every way. The story line had too many heroes vying for attention without enough development to make us care about any of them. The CGI graphics were way overdone for a movie that was supposed to be about real life. We can suspend disbelief for live action super-heroes, but not for mere men. The resolution denied the experience of any reasonable person who has ever dealt with longstanding anger issues.

The only redeeming thematic feature of Ben-Hur was an accurate depiction of the brutal, cruel, and violent Roman empire, which should cause everyone living in the United States to breath a sigh of gratitude for our relative peace and safety. The only redeeming cinematic feature of Ben-Hur was the 5 minute bigger-than-life chariot race, although the crashes would have been more at home in a Transformers movie.

The portrayals of Jesus Christ in Ben-Hur were tepid and diluted. There was nothing God-like about him and no hint or rumor of the miracles that fill the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The suffering of Jesus Christ was portrayed as one of the least brutal of dozens of other killings in the movie. I’ve seen much worse violence in a WWE fake fight. It’s such a shame because it’s easy to research the actual details in a 2,000 year old best seller that’s available anywhere.

• Matthew 26-28
• Mark 15-16
• Luke 22-24
• John 19-21

These accounts agree with the prophecies from hundreds of years earlier…

The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me,
and I have listened.
I have not rebelled or turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
from mockery and spitting. (Isaiah 50:5-6)

See, my servant will prosper;
he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him.
His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
And he will startle many nations.
Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told;
they will understand what they had not heard about. (Isaiah 52:13-15)

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrowsa that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him
the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing. (Psalm 22:14-18)