Ben-Hur

Regardless what the AI and critics say, I felt this was a spectacular movie and it stands on its own merit!The acting was superb and the directing was also excellent.Behind the scenes: In making the movie, the actors had to drive chariots. Real chariots and real horses were used as well as the entire chariot race scenes. Most of the a audience people in the circus Chariot race scene where CGI but many in the foreground were not. There was plenty of action and plenty of excitement in this movie.The story runs tighter and has all the essentials without the frills of a more elaborate story telling. It is amazing for the fact that they had to jam so much of the action-packed story in 2 hours and 5 minutes. Today's audience does not have the attention span nor the time to watch a movie for 3 hours and 53 minutes in a theater like people watched in 1959 with the classic version. That 1959 version also had a very long intermission between reels. This modern version is spectacular and people get the thrills and entertainment in the timespan of 2 hours and 3 minutes for today's modern audience's instant gratification fix. It has the right grit without being morbid and grungy.Action: In making the movie, the actors had to drive chariots. Real chariots and real horses were used as well as the entire chariot race scenes. Most of the a audience people in the circus Chariot race scene where CGI but many in the foreground were not. There was plenty of action and plenty of excitement in this movie.The graphics were amazing, done well for 2016 and are good even now. The FX need to be mentioned.The horse tripping scenes were CGI but a lot of the horse riding and chariot scenes were performed in the flesh. I looked up the making of the movie and was impressed with the fact that the Chariot race circus environment had to be built. The actors had to train to drive chariots for 4 months and did most of the action in camera. The horse "accidents" were CGI but the race was all performed in real time in the flesh. The CGI aspects of the accidents doesn't make the scenes any less intense during the Chariot races and kudos to the actors for their amazing job!In all fairness, I think this movie stands alone on its own merit and it is great movie! Nothing lags in this version of Ben-Hur and it is exciting from beginning to end! There was nothing lacking in its interpretation of Jesus and His message and the miracle of His crucifixion. This movie was better in regards to portraying Jesus. In the DeMilles' 1959 version, Jesus is obscured and we never see His face. In this version, Jesus is shown up close with His compassionate eyes shining through all the blood and beatings. The true message of the Savior has a greater impact in this version than the 1959 version so great applause for this!I don't want to be a spoiler for the end but to be honest, I felt the end in this version was much better than the ending in the Cecil B. DeMills' version, bringing light to the message of Jesus Christ to the purpose of His life on earth.Awesome movie! It was first on Amazon when I discovered it but I liked it so much. I purchased the DVD and added it to my permanent library! It is worth watching many times over!

Best movie I have seen in a while.

The original was a spectacle of the day with an all star cast, this version stands on its own merits and is very well done.

I am a bit fan of the original Ben-Hur, I own the anniversary gift box! So when I heard that Ben-Hur was being re-imagined, I was like most people - very skeptical. I don't like to pre-judge movies without watching them, so I went into this movie with very how expectations and just try to see the movie as something new and fresh. This is a very worthy re-imagining of Ben-Hur!Here are my comparisons:- The sets were incredible as well as the feeling that you are actually seeing first century Jerusalem.- The famous chariot race is well done, but in all honesty the chariot race in the 1959 Ben-Hur is still breathtaking today as when it was first shown.- Jesus, yes he plays a part in both of these versions, more so in this new version. But the quiet presence of Jesus in the original film is very moving, there's no need to have dialogue. You absolutely understand what is going on and how this unfolds and effects the characters in the movie. But I will say that in this new version, Jesus effects all characters and his main teachings directly reflect what the characters are going through as well as the final outcome.- Relationship of Ben-Hur and Messala: there is no doubt that this new version shows us so much more about them as individuals and as true "brothers", this is the cornerstone of the movie, their love, devotion, loyalty to one another and how their fears over took their better qualities. It was very refreshing to see this on screen.- Character of Messala, in the original film you have no pity or understanding for him - you see why that hatred between both Ben-Hur and Messala exists and festers. In this version of the film, you see the confusion, the hurt that Messale feels. You have a mixture of feelings for both the protagonist and the antagonist.- Original film was about hate and revenge, a sentiment that all can relate to (especially under the circumstances of the film) but in this re-imagining it's more about redemption and forgiveness. I like both takes on this, but there is something very profound in this new version with both main characters going through this journey. The movie does a great job of conveying that there is only so much hate a person can have, that it will eat you up but in the end, does not grant you the peace that one longs for or is in need of.In all honestly, I like both versions of Ben-Hur a lot, for some reason this story has always touched me and I do agree with others who say that the story of Ben-Hur will always be relevant and transcend time.

Upper tier movie with an excellent plot and twists and turns. Highly recommended.Also, beautiful scenes and beautiful horses.

Great classic old movie. Good quality picture.