BEN-HUR (2016)
An exciting epic where forgiveness triumphs over hatred.
Should You Watch It?
This is a very entertaining, powerful reimagining of the famous novel. The raging sea battle and pulse-pounding chariot race are spectacular, and Jack Huston’s performance as Judah Ben-Hur grows stronger as the stakes rise. The story also presents a serious choice between revenge and forgiveness, with strong Christian content centered on Jesus Christ.
The film’s Christian message is incomplete. It includes overt biblical references and shows Jesus willingly laying down His life, but it does not explain that He dies for humanity’s sins, and it contains no reference to the resurrection. As a result, salvation by faith in Jesus becomes more of a moral lesson about forgiveness.
The intense violence calls for parental discernment, especially for younger children. For teenagers and adults, this is worth seeing if you can handle the content and recognize where its Christian message falls short.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESJudah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince, is reunited with his adopted brother Messala, now a hardened Roman soldier. When Judah shelters an injured Jewish zealot, a failed attempt to kill Pontius Pilate changes both brothers’ lives.
Judah is sentenced to slavery on a Roman galley ship, where he survives a tremendous sea battle and meets a sheikh who encourages him to seek revenge in the arena. But after returning to Jerusalem, Judah must decide whether hatred or forgiveness will define him. Along the way, he crosses paths with Jesus Christ and His disciples.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this remake succeeds as an exciting, well-crafted historical epic. The sea battle is spectacular, and the climactic chariot race is well done, filled with thrills, spills, and suspense. The story keeps building energy, especially once Judah’s stakes become personal.
Jack Huston gives a strong performance as Judah, growing more compelling as the story progresses. Morgan Freeman’s performance as the sheikh is too subdued, however, and the final dramatic scenes after the chariot race and Christ’s crucifixion could have been staged more dramatically.
The new version lacks the majesty of the 1959 classic, but it remains exciting, enjoyable, and entertaining.
The Worldview
BEN-HUR promotes repentance and forgiveness within a strong moral and Christian framework. It includes biblical references to God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, including dialogue from the New Testament documents. The film presents Roman crucifixion as wrong and unjust, while showing Jesus willingly choosing to lay down His life.
Its central weakness is what it leaves out. The film does not explain that Jesus goes to the cross to die for humanity’s sins, and it offers no references to His resurrection. Because of that omission, the Christian message of salvation becomes primarily a lesson about forgiveness. The movie also includes some false religion through small pagan idols associated with a Roman character, although those idols are treated as false.
The film exalts forgiveness over hatred and asks whether a wounded person will pursue revenge or find forgiveness. That moral question aligns with Scripture, but the gospel goes further than moral improvement: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong Christian, moral worldview promoting repentance and forgiveness, with some Christian, biblical references to God, Jesus Christ and the Bible, including dialogue from the New Testament documents, but the movie contains no resurrection references or scenes and leaves viewers with no presentation of the Gospel of Jesus (Jesus says he goes to the Cross willingly, but He doesn’t say it’s to die for Man’s sin, and no one else says that either), plus some false religion where Roman character has some small false pagan idols, and the Romans of course are pagans, and they do crucify Jesus, but the idols are considered false in the movie, and the Roman crucifixion of Jesus is considered wrong and unjust, even though Jesus goes willingly to the Cross; one “d” word and four exclamatory profanities, plus one “for God’s sake” that’s an appeal rather than an expletive; strong and light, sometimes intense, action violence includes a Zealot tries to kill Pontius Pilate with an arrow, a huge sea battle, rowing slaves are in danger of drowning during sea battle, ship rams Roman galley and endangers slaves lives, training of chariot horses results in one man falling off, and Judah Ben-Hur corrects the problem, people arrested and thrown into dungeons or made into slaves, Romans crucify rebels and other people, Jesus is crucified, and intense chariot race involves lots of thrills, spills and charioteers being run over by horses, with one charioteer losing a limb, plus two women get leprosy; no depicted sex, but married couple kiss, and they are shown lying in bed together, so marital sex is implied; upper male nudity; light alcohol use/references; and, hero is betrayed by a man he helped, and he’s made a slave, and his sister and mother are thrown in jail, plus bad guys do bad things.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Judah must choose between revenge and forgiveness. What does genuine forgiveness require, and how is it different from pretending that wrong never happened?
Matthew 18:21–22 · Colossians 3:13The film shows Jesus laying down His life willingly but does not explain the full meaning of the cross. What does Scripture say Jesus accomplished through His death?
Isaiah 53:5–6 · 1 Peter 2:24Judah is betrayed by someone he helped. How can you respond when kindness is repaid with harm?
Romans 12:17–21 · 1 Peter 2:23The story treats hatred as destructive and forgiveness as life-changing. Where do you need God’s help to pursue peace rather than revenge?
Ephesians 4:31–32 · Romans 12:18The Final Word
BEN-HUR delivers spectacular action, a strong performance from Jack Huston, and a moving conflict between revenge and forgiveness. Its Christian message is incomplete, but teenagers and adults who can handle the intense violence may find this exciting epic worth seeing. WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.
