Ben-Hur — Roman versus Jews through the life of two men — 6*/10

• Overall: A very solid and entertaining piece. Nothing too harsh, nothing too pretty. However, something always felt missing.
• Who is it for? Anyone interested in a story set in the ancient Mediterranean world or related to Jesus.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2638144/
• Known actors: Morgan Freeman.
• Setting: Ancient Rome.
• Style: Gritty, with a bit of violence.
• Pacing: Some parts felt rushed, not letting the audience take in the moment or the meaning.
• Story: Good overall, but not great. Some part didn't gel really well. Maybe it's because they tried to redo the original too much. Best part was the time as a rower. The mood and the ambiance was perfect.
• Ending: I really didn't expect this, but it's way too rosy.
• Characters: Surprisingly, with how much back story we had, they didn't seem to have much depth to any of them.
• Acting: Good, but missing the spark to make it great.
• Visuals: Very nice.
• Special Effects: Good scenery, bad horse in the stand.
• Camera Work: Some nice things.
• Costumes: In some cases, it looked too modern. Love the Roman garbs, though.
• Music: Bad choice for the end credits, too modern.
• Afterthoughts: It all felt empty, as if they going through the motion of making a movie about that particular subject, or recreating what had been done before.