Epic (and that's all)

Rating: 6/10 (30 January 2017)

Jesusalem, 26 AD. Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jewish nobleman who is reduced to a life of a slave due to the machinations of Messala, the Roman military commander. Ben-Hur is sentenced to spend the rest of his life as a slave, chained to the oar of a Roman galley. What follows is an epic tale of survival, determination and revenge.
An epic in many ways: the larger-than-life sets (the chariot race takes the cake), the scale of it (time and distance-wise) and the running time. Unfortunately, that's all there is to recommend for this movie as it is otherwise just a long, conventional, linear story. Not overly engaging or interesting but entertaining enough to be watchable.
Won the 1960 Best Picture Oscar, plus 10 other Oscars.