Ben-Hur
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: August 19, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
38
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
21
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenAug 18, 2016
Cheap and cheesy at every level, this Ben-Hur barely qualifies as an epic. It’s a wholly unnecessary addition to the venerable franchise. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 18, 2016
Bekmambetov and Co. have created a redesigned product that is at once inferior to the original and a slavish imitation. Read full review
35
TheWrapRobert AbeleAug 17, 2016
This Ben-Hur may not be an epic fail, but its steady stream of shortcomings are certainly a cautionary journey for anybody with the hubris to try and rebuild the monuments of movies past. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 24, 2016
It’s not the unmitigated disaster early reviews suggested. Instead, it is a blandly competent and doggedly uninspired redo of material adapted a half-dozen times already. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyAug 17, 2016
Misguided, diminished and dismally done in every way, this late-summer afterthought will richly earn the distinction of becoming the first Ben-Hur in any form to flop. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 19, 2016
The last of the summer's movie epics is a digitalized eyesore hobbled in every department by staggering incompetence. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 18, 2016
The problem comes down to this: If you take the spirituality out of Ben-Hur, you take the Ben-Hur out of Ben-Hur. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 18, 2016
As the new Ben-Hur unspools into insignificance and sentimentality, there are fleeting moments that suggest someone behind this $100-million movie was actually thinking hard about how to replay a schlocky biblical epic for a secular audience in 2016. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonAug 17, 2016
Ben-Hur director Timur Bekmambetov offers nothing new to the cinematic lexicon of the chariot race. Read full review
0
New York PostLou LumenickAug 18, 2016
There’s a fatally miscast lead (Jack Huston, you are no Charlton Heston), cut-rate special effects, reams of eyeball-glazing dialogue, and a schmaltzy “inspirational” script that pointlessly alters the story in ways that make absolutely no sense. Read full review
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