Fox tackles a remake of one of the greatest films in cinema history with their version of Ben Hur helmed by director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Find out our thoughts on this remake in our review after the jump.

Its no small feat to tackle a remake of Ben Hur. It is universally considered one of the greatest films of all time. The role of Judah Ben Hur is iconic and one that most people instantly flash to when thinking of Charlton Heston. Moreover, the chariot race setpiece that makes the climax of the film is one of the most referenced scenes in cinematic history. 20th Century Fox opted to go this route, adapting the novel on which the classic Warner Brothers film was based and we get a different take on the material from noted genre director Timur Bekmambetov, who up top this point is basically known for doing genre pictures.

In this take on Ben Hur, we’re introduced to Judah Ben Hur (Jack Huston) and Messala (Toby Kebbell) as competitive young men who are also brothers. Messala feels an outsider in Ben Hur’s life of weath as a Jewish prince and becomes fixated on proving himself as a Roman warrior. Ben Hur already accepts Messala but is powerless to stop him; writing to his brother every day as he struggles to keep the peace between Jews and Romans in his native Jerusalem. Zealots are rising up crying for independence from Rome, even as the followers of Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro) begin to grow and teach a message of love. Messala returns from battle, confident that he is becoming his own man under the banner of Rome and found the favor of Pontius Pilate (Pilou Asbæk). He asks for Ben Hur’s help in putting down the rise of the zealots; one of whom Ben Hur is nursing to help and away from a life of violence. Unfortunately, as Pilate attempts to make a procession through Jerusalem, the peace Messala and Pilate ask for is not held and Ben Hur takes the fall at the hands of Messala; losing his family and being sold into a life of slavery.

On the surface, this sounds very similar to the original film. Huston’s Ben Hur doesn’t convey the strength or gravity of Heston’s. Indeed, during the sequences detailing Ben Hur’s captivity, his eyes don’t display intensity as much as a feral need to survive that doesn’t carry over through to the rest of the film. In many ways, while the film is serviceable as an adaptation, it struggles to carry a sense of being an epic tale that the William Wyler version of Ben Hur did. Bekmambetov’s direction doesn’t help matters; there’s a sense of overwhelming CGI throughout the film that when counterbalanced to the sparse desert sets, give the film the feel of a miniseries adaptation on par with something like The Bible.

One of the bigger issues the film faces is balancing telling a story set in the time of Jesus, featuring Jesus as a supporting character, and not falling in the trap of being a faith-based film made for Christians. Santoro’s Jesus appears early on as a carpenter offering Ben Hur advice and later water as he is led off into slavery. Those scenes have Jesus preaching platitudes and the Golden Rule and this serves to establish his presence as he is later betrayed and led to be crucified. However, the writers make the odd choice of having the character Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) later act as Ben Hur’s mentor and guide his quest for redemption and helps Ben Hur reach many of his goals at the expense of his own. Ilderim falls into the position of being a “Bagger Vance/noble savage” type of stock character. In many ways, Freeman’s character and help through the film undercuts Ben Hur’s eventual redemptive arc at finding salvation at the sacrifice of Jesus. The film’s seeming need to balance Jesus’ help (represented mainly as flashback cuts set in montages during key parts of Ben Hur’s struggle) with that of a man in Ilderim, make the audience wonder if Ilderim is acting on behalf of God through the film and the revelation that he isn’t just seems jarring in many ways.

That being said, the chariot race is the focal point the film is leading to throughout the film’s running time and this is the best sequence of the film. Bekmambetov makes it seems organic and visceral despite the CGI used here and it is quite the spectacle as it seems real even though it cannot be.

Ultimately, this version of Ben Hur is an interesting anachronism; it wants to be its own entity yet is unmistakably tethered to the Heston classic. It is a decent film on its surface, but struggles from trying to find its own identity. It has two great setpieces, but those stand out more for their use of CGI than their originality. Santoro’s Christ is a compelling figure and I found myself wanting to see more of him, while wanting less of Kebbell and Huston, who are serviceable in their roles but struggle to be relatable.