Judah Ben-Hur, a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption.
When his mentor is taken captive by a disgraced Arab sheik, a killer-for-hire is forced into action. His mission: kill three members of Britain's elite Special Air Service responsible for the death of his sons.
A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
Director:
Daniel Espinosa
Stars:
Denzel Washington,
Ryan Reynolds,
Robert Patrick
The defiant leader Moses rises up against Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, setting six hundred thousand slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Stars:
Christian Bale,
Joel Edgerton,
Ben Kingsley
A fallen warrior rises against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge his dishonored master in a sword-clashing adventure of loyalty, honor, and vengeance.Written by
Lionsgate
Usually my tastes align pretty much with the score than MetaCritic (and RottenTomatoes) gives for a particular movie. This is one of the few exceptions to that rule. I disclaimer: I am Japanese and live in Japan, and have a sweet tooth for old school Japanese dramas (not just the masters like Kurosawa and Juzo Itami) and styles that some people might not have the taste for. Note that in Japan this movie is getting good reviews -- but that's probably due to the Japanese director and the Japanese actors in it. However, there is a lot of Korean influence (according to the credits) in it as well.
If I was to pick anything wrong with the movie, the second act, which builds up the twist to the third act and the obvious final battle, was a little too obvious to me, and those familiar with this type of drama, even Clint Eastwood's old masterpiece, "Unforgiven", will probably recognize the device right away.
The combat scenes were very well done and while choreographed, there was a minimal of "you must suspend your disbelief" type Matrix-like line-and-wire acrobatics (there was some though).
Finally, the movie doesn't wimp out with a Hollywood style "Happy Ending." I'm not going to tell you if it's a good ending or not... I'm just saying that they didn't choose the ending that would have marketers would have preferred. Good for them.
35 of 51 people found this review helpful.
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Usually my tastes align pretty much with the score than MetaCritic (and RottenTomatoes) gives for a particular movie. This is one of the few exceptions to that rule. I disclaimer: I am Japanese and live in Japan, and have a sweet tooth for old school Japanese dramas (not just the masters like Kurosawa and Juzo Itami) and styles that some people might not have the taste for. Note that in Japan this movie is getting good reviews -- but that's probably due to the Japanese director and the Japanese actors in it. However, there is a lot of Korean influence (according to the credits) in it as well.
If I was to pick anything wrong with the movie, the second act, which builds up the twist to the third act and the obvious final battle, was a little too obvious to me, and those familiar with this type of drama, even Clint Eastwood's old masterpiece, "Unforgiven", will probably recognize the device right away.
The combat scenes were very well done and while choreographed, there was a minimal of "you must suspend your disbelief" type Matrix-like line-and-wire acrobatics (there was some though).
Finally, the movie doesn't wimp out with a Hollywood style "Happy Ending." I'm not going to tell you if it's a good ending or not... I'm just saying that they didn't choose the ending that would have marketers would have preferred. Good for them.