The movie “Ben-Hur” was released Aug. 19 as a remake of the 1959 original film. The motion picture follows the story of the main character Judah Ben-Hur, played by Jack Huston, who is enslaved for five years due to him being falsely accused of treason. Photo fair use of screenrant.com.
By ANDREW CALDWELL – Print Junior Copy Editor
Despite its high expectations, the newly released movie “Ben-Hur” failed to deliver a comprehendible plot line and engage the audience into the story.
“I feel as if I just took a 20 dollar bill and threw it out the window.”
The newly released motion picture “Ben-Hur” hit theaters Aug. 19, starring actors well-known Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Morgan Freeman.
The movie follows the biblical story of the Palestinian Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) who was falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, Messala Severus (Toby Kebbell), an officer of the Roman army.
Ben-Hur’s punishment for his alleged crime was the execution of his family and his enslavement on a ship where he was forced to row for five years. During these long years, he was beaten and tortured into working extreme hours.
When the ship crashes, Ben-Hur washes up on shore where he then plots his revenge against his brother, with little expectation of finding redemption.
The movie, which is based off the popular 1880 novel “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ”, is a Hollywood-ized remake of the 1959 film, which won 11 out of the 12 Academy Awards it was nominated for.
Due to this past accomplishment, the movie had high expectations, but sadly failed to deliver.
In its entirety, the movie lacked a basic plot and storyline. Some scenes seemed rushed, while others dragged on forever. The viewer would find it difficult to hear and understand the majority of the script, as the actors and actresses speak very quickly and in hushed tones.
In scenes that are more clear, the acting and effects are otherwise superb.
Because the plot was a little chaotic, one may also find it to be complicated to follow the story if one did not have any prior knowledge to what the movie was to be about.
“Ben-Hur” takes place during the time of Jesus Christ who does make an appearance in the movie and is played by Rodrigo Santoro. However, the story itself does not come from the Bible and faith-based audiences may lose touch or interest over the course of the two and a half hour movie.
Overall, “Ben-Hur” is an acquired movie that may or may not leave one satisfied, depending on one’s religious beliefs and interests. All in all, the movie falls through when trying to captivate its audience, and leaves the watchers pondering over what they just paid for.
