The Bite Magazine - issue 16

A fter falsely being accused of trying to murder his friend and adopted brother Messala, Roman noble Judah Ben Hur (Jack Huston) is forced to become a slave to other Romans. During this time while planning his revenge against those who accused him, he ends up in a potentially deadly con- frontation with Messala (Toby Kebbell), in a highly dangerous chariot race. Morgan Freeman plays the sheikh who trains Hur to become a charioteer, while director Timur Bekmambetov is the man responsible for bringing this new version of a classic story to life. The new film is based upon the 1880 novel Ben Hur:ATale of the Christ and has been described as both a ‘reim- agining’ and also a ‘new interpretation’ of the story. Filmed primarily in Italy, including the Italian capital of Rome, this new adaptation focuses mainly on bringing the action to life through live action stunts rather than relying heavily on artificial CGI effects. However while Bekmambetov wanted to film the iconic chariot race in the Circus Maximus arena in Rome, as in the original, fears over the fragility of the site meant that the sequence had to take place in a studio instead. So the question is will this new epic be a spectacular success or a failure of epic proportions? Thankfully the former looks far more likely, as the film’s trailer was viewed more than 8 million times in its first week. The return to more live action sequences rather than a heavy reliance on CGI gives the film a far more realistic feel, giving audiences the sense of being immersed in the action throughout. Whether the new film can emulate the success of its predecessor, including 11 Oscars for the 1959 Charlton Heston original, remains to be seen. However it’s an action-packed, stunt-filled epic that proves swords and sandals films are not done and dusted just yet. Released Date: 19th August 2016 www.benhurmovie.com Ben Hur bite films