Ben-Hur

This review may contain spoilers!

It's amazing how a ten minute ending can unhinge the work of an otherwise okay film. I would give Ben-Hur a 5.5/10.

At the heart of what was really good about this film is the brotherly bond between Judah and Messala, these two characters have such a powerful relationship and it really motivates some of the best scenes of the film. The score for this film is really well done, if any part of this film captures the epic that was the original Ben-Hur it's the music. The special effects in this film actually look pretty good, there's a lot of work done to making great landscapes such as the one in the naval battle. The action sequences are well choreographed even if they are brief; the strongest scene of the film is the chariot race which is a great blend of effects and stuntwork.

Jack Huston, who played Judah Ben-Hur, made for a great protagonist for this film; Huston presented a role who was extremely compassionate and at the same time consumed by a drive for vengeance. Ayelet Zurer, who played Naomi Ben-Hur, made for a rather powerful matriarch; her cold demeanour concealed a rather caring heart which made for an interesting role. Morgan Freeman, who played Ilderim, was clearly quite a fun role in this film; his confident attitude and sly lines made him one of the more entertaining roles. James Cosmo, who played Quintus, was a minor role that really stood out; his tough intimidating Roman commander certainly left a lasting impression.

However the best performance came from Toby Kebbell, who played Messala Severus. Kebbell brings out a very charismatic character when first we are introduced to him, he also presents a very loner figure despite this charisma resulting in an already tragic hero. As the film progresses and Kebbell's role becomes fuelled by his ambition we see a dark merciless side to the character which Kebbell pulls off brilliantly. Yet it is the chemistry between Kebbell and Huston which really drives the film, these two truly feel like brothers.

You didn't really care enough about the Jew/Roman conflict in this film for it to recieve the spotlight that it did, there just weren't enough interesting Roman or Jewish side characters within the story. This film was bogged down by it's strong religious overtones, the intensity of Jesus' presence at the end of the film resulted in a rather weak and forced conclusion. The pacing within the film was also all over the show, the start went very quickly trying to fit in as much info and characterisation as it coulb before slowing right down to tell the story that the writers clearly wanted to tell. The cinematography was peculiar within Ben-Hur, the director tried for some fairly creative shots and it didn't work out at all.

Rodrigo Santoro, who played Jesus, played his role far too over the top; this was a preachy character who didn't really serve the film all that well. Nazanin Boniadi, who played Esther, was a terrible love interest for Huston; her role's sudden religious motivations was also extremely jarring to the narrative. Pilou Asbæk, who played Pontius Pilate, seemed little more than a figurehead role until near the end of the film; once he was actually given dialogue he certainly didn't stop presenting a role that felt stereotypical. Sofia Black-D'Elia, who played Tirzah Ben-Hur, was one of the more forgettable family characters; she neither served as a love interest for Kebbell or as an effective part of the Zealot subplot. Marwan Kenzari, who played Druses, was an exceptionally forgettable character; he tended to fall into the background and barely served the narrative. Moises Arias, who played Dismas, wasn't given the opportunity to play a role so much as he got to portray a plot point; Arias hardly had a line which greatly affected the significance of his character. Haluk Bilginer, who played Simonides, was essentially an extra given a title in this film; Bilginer certainly was one of the worst roles within the film. David Walmsley, who played Marcus Decimus, was a rather genric henchman role to Kebbell's lead; Walmsley tried his best to stand out but he just didn't feel like a good fit to the film.