Part 1

For all the criticism this film gets, it's not as bad as say, the animated version made a few years ago which only ran for an hour and was 10 times more ridiculous then this one is. I think some people have sour grapes that there is indeed a remake of it, yes there are some problems, but no, I don't think it should retract from the enjoyment of the movie. It flows quite nicely, and it has some great suspense. I really liked how they fleshed out the Masala's character, whose contempt of Ben-Hur was fuzzy in all the versions I've seen. There's also less focus on religion, which, in your point of view could be good or bad, but to me it's just fine, as I think it takes away from the main story (some people would disagree, as you could say this is almost a dual story, the life story of Ben-Hur and Jesus). The acting is fine too, Joseph Morgan is quite good as Ben-Hur, well, smoking is more like it haha, and he has a great supporting cast. I wasn't disappointed in this at all.

This version of Ben Hur focused on a portion of the epic version and successfully produced a very enjoyable movie in its own right. The 22 million dollar budget provided ample resources for the acting, sets and action. I had obtained this mini-series a while back but waited months to watch it believing it would be like all the other adolescent-like series emerging these days e.g. Merlin. I finally decided to watch it or give it to my nephew. I became instantly curious and engrossed and watched the entire 3 hour mini-series in one sitting. I watch too many movies and am ultra-sensitive to bad acting, silly fight scenes and gaffs in general. No leaps of faith for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the mini-series "Rome". And while I will not try to compare the two, I did notice similar elements albeit PG-13 vs Rome's graphic content. Discount the negative reviews and check it out for yourself.

As stated, I didn't like this version at all...

The cast is absolutely awful, not one character seems to fit (mesala was perhaps the only good choice) and discolored curly hair is ridiculous in an antic set up. Lucía Jiménez, who plays Athene, is probably the worst actress I've ever seen, every single line of her dialogs were painful to hear and almost made you feel bad for her.

I've read a few comments saying you shouldn't compare it with the 1959 version since this is a mini-series and everything, but how couldn't you!! The storyline is literally the same, it's almost a perfect copy of the 1959 film, without the goods. Sometimes you feel like your watching a version made by a bunch of friends on youtube, it's almost the same dialogs in some moments, it's ridiculous! I just don't understand why this was made... I had real expectations about this, I loved the 1959 picture and since it's so widely known by the public I was expecting something new, with an other angle or something... not a plain copy.

Oh and did I mention that Lucía Jiménez is really bad in this?

The show is a nice mini-series that even could be better if it was a movie or a show with a better production, but Joseph Morgan's performance as Ben-Hur is impressive! This actor will make great things.

I love this show, but i believe it needs more big, better scenes and maybe with more special effects like Spartacus show, but the actor who play Ben-Hur's character, Joseph Morgan show a great act. He also proved it that he can make better, especially with his role "Klaus" the original vampire at the hit series "Vampire Diaries".

Can't wait to see more performance from this young actor!

I had misgivings even before watching this one but wanted to check it out nonetheless. I mean, how could they possibly top the 1959 version with Charleton Heston? Answer: they can't! This made for TV version has a weak cast with mediocre acting. The characters that were so memorable and likable in the Charleton Heston version were poorly developed in this one. I couldn't get myself to care about any of them at all, not even the title character. The movie seems hurried throughout and the scenes that were so spectacular in the 1959 version, particularly the galley battle scene and the chariot race, left me utterly disappointed in this one. I would dare say the silent version from 1925 was better than this one. I don't know what the director and producer of this mini series were hoping to accomplish, but whatever it was, they failed miserably. Lew Wallace must have been turning over in his grave, it simply did not do his book justice the same way the previous two film versions did and even the early 1907 version as a matter of fact. I can see the need to make a remake for the silent black and white movie to update with sound and color. And the 1959 MGM Technicolor version was one of the greatest movies ever made. A monumental epic with a cast of thousands, great stars in the leading roles and William Wyler as the director, they just don't make movies like that anymore.

Just like with the remakes of War Of The Worlds and Planet Of The Apes, this remake was totally unnecessary and can't hold a candle to the much better 1959 version. I say: Leave the timeless classics alone! A great movie can stand on it's own without the need for an "updated" version.