BackFilm review: Ben-Hur
A serviceable but ultimately inferior remake of the 1959 classic
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Most of us remember or know of the 1959 Ben-Hur, with its pounding climactic chariot race. The film, starring Charlton Heston and directed by William Wyler, won 11 Oscars. Some films do not need to be remade.
Timur Bekmambetov helms this new, but not improved, version of the epic. The story is more or less the same. Jack Huston steps into Heston’s sandals to play Judah Ben-Hur, a benevolent nobleman in Jerusalem, whose adoptive brother, Messala (Toby Kebbell), shifts loyalty to the Roman empire and falsely accuses Judah of treason. Judah is enslaved and chained in the basement of a ship. After five years of torture and working the oars, Judah survives a battle attack at sea, regains his strength and finds a purpose. He finds a patron in Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman), who facilitates Judah’s desire for vengeance against Messala, now emperor Tiberius Caesar’s champion charioteer.
The final battle between brothers is fought during a chariot race; Judah rides a chariot pulled by white horses, while Messala’s horses are all black. This is much like the original. And while I first thought the arena was all CGI, I learnt that they shot with real horses and 400 extras in an arena created on a studio back lot. Yet, somehow, the adrenalin, anticipation and breathlessness associated with the 1959 film fail to kick in.
There are other significant characters—Esther, Jesus, Pontius Pilate and Caesar. The screenplay reworks the original 1880 text, Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ, to highlight Roman dominance and slavery, and the fraternal bond between Judah and Messala; it also enhances Esther’s role. On his return to Jerusalem, a city that’s now a shadow of its former glory, Judah encounters Esther, who has dedicated her life to Jesus’ teachings. Through them he comes to understand the importance of forgiveness.
This Ben-Hur isn’t a total washout, but it doesn’t hit that much-needed high note that could distinguish it from its far superior predecessor.
Ben-Hur released in theatres on Friday.
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