To say that this new 3D version of Ben-Hur comes to British cinemas on a downer is something of an understatement. The film cost a whopping $100 million to make, but flopped spectacularly at the US box office, making a paltry $11.4 million on its opening weekend. Having sat through it, it’s not hard to see why.
Lew Wallace’s novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ has been adapted numerous times, most famously, of course, in epic cinematic form in the late 1950s, starring Charlton Heston as the titular hero. Here, the main arc of the plot remains the same, with Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince (Jack Huston), cast out of Jerusalem on a galley ship by his adoptive Roman brother, Messala (Toby Kebbel). Judah vows to seek revenge, with a showdown occurring years later as the siblings go head-to-head in a
chariot race.
