I love the original version. As a matter of fact it is one of the first movies I bought on VHS. So watching this thing was to say the least disappointing. This could have been a good TV series. The actors are good, the costumes and sets well made and accurate but the luck of DIRT is very obvious unfortunately! (The Romans cross the desert, and they look clean and refreshed as if they just had a bath lol), and the photography and lighting quite nice. However, the story adaptation and script in general, looks like it was done by a 10 year old. The characters are shallow and they are completely detached from one another. The bonds that should drive the story are weak, almost absent, and we simply watch this movie as a companion to the original. There is no real reason as to why Ben Hur should be adopted by his roman dad in this version. There is no reason for him playing gladiator besides adding some sword fight to the recipe. There is no reason why the mother and sister wake up healed in the end. There is no reason for A lot of things happening in this movie. The movie is watchable if you have nothing better to do on a workday afternoon. Personally I watched this at work, so I did not waste any of my precious time. I suggest you do the same. I Voted with a 3 only because of the costumes and sets.
Review of Episode #1.1
