After his years as a galley slave, Ben Hur is supposed to be adopted by Quintus Arrius and taken to Rome. Despite his new found good fortune, Judah has one purpose in his heart: to find out what happened to his mother and sister, rescue them if possible, and avenge them if it's not. He realizes that, if he is to go against Rome's military might, he must learn to fight as they do. While in Rome he trains in Roman warcraft, becoming proficient in hand-to-hand combat and also becoming a skilled charioteer, winning numerous prizes in the arena. He is aided in these endeavours by the great strength in his arms and hands, developed by his years at the oar. When he returns to seek his family and/or vengeance, it is as a wealthy Roman citizen, the son of a Roman war hero, a well-trained, well-honed fighter and driver who is determined to make his enemies pay. He has the money, power, and training to take on Messala- and the rage-fuelled desire for vengeance to do it.
In the 2016 film however, thanks to them killing off Arrius, Judah is not adopted and taken to Rome, receives no training at anything, and thus has no money, power, or skills. He escapes from the sinking Roman galley and makes his way directly home. Also, thanks to them killing off Simonides, he also now has no Hur money or property and is facing off against Messala as an impoverished escaped slave. If 2016 Messala wasn't also a completely unimpressive character, he'd have had Judah executed five minutes after he showed up again. Also, this movie expects us to believe that Ben Hur, never having raced a chariot before, could win the race against experienced drivers after one lesson with super-sheik Morgan Freeman. Not only that, but the financial ruination of Messala is supposed to be accomplished by manipulating him into betting a huge amount of money on himself- far more than he can afford to lose. Ben Hur is so wealthy that he can push the stakes up to astronomical levels. But not in this film; the super sheik has to foot the bills, because Judah has nothing.
So the plot makes Ben Hur an unimpressive character, and the way he's portrayed does nothing to counter this image. Judah Ben Hur is supposed to be filled with suppressed anger at the injustices perpetrated against him and his family. But 2016 Ben Hur spends most of the movie looking anguished or just plain sad.
Apparently Mark Burnett and Roma Downey decided to make this movie when they realized that their teen aged children didn't know who Ben Hur was. Well, if all they did was watch this film, they still don't know. Why on earth wouldn't they just sit the kids down in front of the far superior 1959 film or, here's a thought, PUT THE BOOK IN THEIR HANDS. It gives me no pleasure to completely pan this movie because, as I've said, there is enough unused material in the novel to support a more detailed film/miniseries and I would welcome such a project. Unfortunately, this mess, which the filmmakers dubbed a "re-imagining" of Ben Hur is true neither to the letter nor spirit of the book, has a shallow, illogical plot and flat, unconvincing characters who inspire apathy and boredom rather than excitement and interest. Give it a miss.