ROedMup thaAt3D reNmake
Our man’s f
AFTER fairly disastrous US box office figures, I was expecting this 3D redo of the 1959 Oscar smash to be a disaster of Biblical proportions.
Sadly, it’s not quite the chariot crash I was secretly hoping for.
The dialogue is dull rather than cheesy, the acting is disappointingly proficient and the 3D CGI effects are actually rather good.
The big problem is the characters, who remain obstinately one dimensional in every scene.
Jack Huston steps into Charlton Heston’s sandals to play Judah Ben-Hur – a Jewish prince who knocked around Jerusalem at the same time as Jesus.
Huston proved a fine character actor in Boardwalk Empire, but on this evidence he lacks the charisma to be a leading man.
To be fair, the writers haven’t done him in any favours.
Here he comes across as bland, over-privileged and, at one crucial moment, a bit of a dunce.
We’re in the Roman province of Judea, and the Zealots (Jewish guerillas) are fighting back against their occupiers.
Judah is sympathetic to their cause but doesn’t want to rock the boat for his wealthy family.
But when he is warned by his adopted Roman officer brother Messala (Toby Kebell) that a parade headed by Pontius Pilate is going to pass underneath the family pile, he stupidly doesn’t kick out (or at least lock up) the extremely zealous Zealot living in his basement. A bungled assassination attempt forces Messala’s hand. And with Pilate looking on, he sends Judah into slavery and wipes out his family.
This is supposed to kick off the revenge plot between the villain Messala and the hero Judah. Sadly, I was never entirely sure who I was rooting for.
Morgan Freeman’s chariot racing impresario doesn’t make much sense either. One minute he’s about to turn Judah over to the Romans, the next he’s making him his top rider and staking his entire fortune on his debut race.
The heavy-handed religious message might be a little offputting for some viewers too.
We only saw the Christian messiah from behind in the 1959 version, but here Rodrigo Santoro’s hunky carpenter, below, is face on and in full flow.
Thankfully, the action scenes offer something for everyone. The chariot race manages to thrill for most of its 10-minute running time.
Even better is a tense and unpredictable naval battle shot from the perspective of Judah and his fellow galley slaves. It’s the other hour and 45 minutes that are the problem.
Needless to say, this one isn’t going to win 11 Oscars.