McKenzie_Bryant

This movie was awesome, plain and simple. The cinematography was beautiful in every scene. I'm usually against remakes, but I feel like Ben-Hur is old enough for a remake to make sense, especially considering how special effects have evolved. My main concern going into this movie was that they used the special effects to get the Roman ship battle scene and the chariot race scene right, and they both scenes turned out to be awesome, and mere the best scenes in my opinion. I was also concerned that there might be some cheesiness to the movie, but there wasn't. I give it a 9 out of 10 instead of a 10 because the ending after the chariot race where they feel with Judah forgiving his brother, and resolving the trauma that befell his family seemed too rushed. But it was still an excellent film. Even the effects in the ending credits were so good I hung around to watch them.

As for all the critics and reviewers giving this movie such low ratings, the vast majority of them are hating on the movie because they're offended that Jesus and his teachings show up in the movie. This was not a new invention of the screenwriters. Jesus and his teachings are in the original, but people have less tolerance for references of faith in New movies, but in the old classic films they get a pass. Anyone who says this movie is terrible either hasn't actually seen the movie is is just lying due to their own personal hatred of Christianity. They may also just be hung up on the 1959 version because Charelton Heston has such a commanding voice, and makes every movie seem like a classic by virtue of opening his mouth and speaking.

Go see the movie for yourself and decide.

I just came back from seeing Risen, and I have to say, I was actually impressed. This is a very well made movie. They handled the biblical story respectfully, while taking creative license in a way that maintained the spirit and overall message of the gospel. To anyone else considering making another film based on the bible, please take note of this film. This is how it's done. No rock creatures to be found here. Just a wonderful film that tells the story with excellence and dignity. I absolutely loved this movie, and fought tears during the 2nd half. I eventually lost that battle, and I heard other sniffles in the audience as well. So be prepared. (By the way, someone please nominate that Roman guard in tavern for an award.)

I'm an African American woman who's recently gotten into watching classic old movies. I'm also a big fan of musicals with really great dance sequences, so I thought I'd like this movie. I knew based on other reviews that the movie didn't have much of a plot, so I was prepared for that, but I wasn't prepared for the fact that overall, this just isn't a very good movie. These African American performers were given a script that was stereotypical and embarrassing throughout many scenes. There's a scene with two actors performing in blackface, and there's a scene of female dancers wearing daisy costumes that look like blackface clowns when their back is turned to you. It just made me groan with the realization that these are the types of roles that were available to black actors back then.

I was really looking forward to seeing Bill Robinson show off these awesome dance steps I've been hearing about, but you really don't see him do that much dancing in the movie, even though he's the main star. So that was disappointing. There is a really great dance routine performed by the Nicholas Brothers at the very end, and it's the best scene in the movie.

As for Lena Horne, I had never seen her perform in anything outside of an episode of The Cosby Show, so I was looking forward to seeing her in this. Anytime she's in a scene she's gorgeous, well dressed, and whenever she sings she sounds amazing.

Besides the Nicholas Brothers and Lena Horne's singing, I really didn't enjoy much about this movie. All of the awkwardness and the extremely fake plot just ruined it for me. It's a shame too. There's a lot of talented performers in this movie. They should have had a better script.