“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” “Nope.”

I almost wonder what I can say about this one. It’s bad. Look at CinemaSins take on it, they covered it pretty well. And while you’re at it, check out Whose Line. But don’t check out this movie because it’s pretty bad.

It’s a cliched story (practically the same as 1959’s Ben-Hur, but that was a much better movie.) There are so many huge plot holes in this movie that you wouldn’t believe. There’s also a ton of confusing editing and really obvious effects. Also, I did some research and found out that this film isn’t anywhere close to being historically accurate. So, there’s that.

Ridley Scott is a flat out bad director. You can tell from the way he works with actors. The acting in this movie is all mediocre. A weak performance by Russell Crowe isn’t too surprising, but Joaquin Phoenix, one of my favorite actors, is just okay in this. That’s not Joaquin’s fault, that’s just poor directing.

I mean, okay. The movie has pretty costumes and pretty sets. But there’s also a lot of violence and gore, and one scene with a tiger getting killed. (What can I say, I’m a cat person.) I’ll give the film credit for not feeling too long. It is a somewhat entertaining film, but it shouldn’t have come anywhere near Best Picture. If anything, it was entertaining because of it’s many sins. It truly is one of the worst films I’ve come across on the Best Picture Quest.

**1/2