The New Ben Hur Falls Short of the Original Classic

So says Monica Migliorino Miller (Crisis, August 26, 2016), and I agree.

Despite impressive special effects in the naval battle scene and the chariot race, the most important part of the original narrative, the supernatural Christian faith that gives meaning to the whole in the original novel, is denatured in the movie, flattening out the vertical dimension of repentance and rebirth into horizontal banalities about overcoming hate and restoring ruptured human relationships.

But read Dr. Miller's account for a superlative analysis.

[Hat tip to Dr. Echeverria who treated me to a 3-D screening of Ben Hur last Saturday]