History YMMV / BenHur2016

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: In this version the Hur family get screwed over because Judah shelters a Zealot who then tries to snipe Pilate from the top of their house, instead of an unfortunate accident with a broken roof tile that hits the governor, even if Judah ends up taking the blame in a bid to spare his family (and causing the tile to fall himself in the novel). Instead of an accident deciding it, Judah could actively have avoided all this misfortune. And still later, the Zealot is the repentant thief crucified with Jesus who promises he will join him in Paradise, even if the audience knows he screwed Judah and the Hur family over in the first place.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The Animated ''Ben-Hur: A Race For Glory'' (1992) had a prologue of a younger Judah and Messala bonding before the latter joins the army, and ends with the two reconciling (although the cartoon had it happen during Palm Sunday).

* ToughActToFollow: The [[Film/BenHur1959 1959 film version]] is such a highly-regarded classic that critics and audiences were generally unenthusiastic at best and vitriolic at worst towards a big-screen movie remake. (The cartoon and TV miniseries versions didn't get nearly the same kind of heat, being in different formats.) The similar responses to this version's trailers are quite telling, since they were still compared unfavorably to the 1959 version despite being ''wildly'' different to each other. The first trailer emphasized the EpicMovie action like the chariot race and the sea battle, with modern flourishes like shifting into first-person view, but drew criticism for being yet another modernized remake that was a soulless CGI fest. Apparently in response, the second trailer opened with a Bible quote and emphasized the expanded role of Jesus, which ''also'' drew criticism as the 1959 movie had kept Jesus as TheFaceless for maximum dramatic effect.

* SignatureScene: The most memorable scene in this version is often cited to be not the ChariotRace, but the Romans entering Jerusalem, singing a Latin marching song which has no equivalent in any previous version. It's based on the modern military cadence "I Hear The Choppers Coming", though it is very, very unlikely the tune is ''that'' old.

* SignatureScene: The most memorable scene in this version is often cited to be not the chariot race, but the Romans entering Jerusalem, singing a Latin marching song which has no equivalent in any previous version. It's based on the modern military cadence "I Hear The Choppers Coming", though it is very, very unlikely the tune is ''that'' old.

* ToughActToFollow: The 1959 movie version is such a highly-regarded classic that critics and audiences were generally unenthusiastic at best and vitriolic at worst towards a big-screen movie remake. (The cartoon and TV miniseries versions didn't get nearly the same kind of heat, being in different formats.) The similar responses to this version's trailers are quite telling, since they were still compared unfavorably to the 1959 version despite being ''wildly'' different to each other. The first trailer emphasized the EpicMovie action like the chariot race and the sea battle, with modern flourishes like shifting into first-person view, but drew criticism for being yet another modernized remake that was a soulless CGI fest. Apparently in response, the second trailer opened with a Bible quote and emphasized the expanded role of Jesus, which ''also'' drew criticism as the 1959 movie had kept Jesus as TheFaceless for maximum dramatic effect.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The Animated ''Ben-Hur: A Race For Glory''(1992) had a prologue of a younger Judah and Messala bonding before the latter joins the army, and ends with the two reconciling (although the cartoon had it happen during Palm Sunday).

* SocietyMarchesOn:
** The film reworks the Esther/Judah romance from the ‘59 film to a conventional upper class/lower class romance. The idea of [[QuestionableConsent a man seducing his slave]] does not fly very well with our better understanding of consent.
** Similarly, the film spends a lot more time discussing the ethics of colonialism and empire, since the fall of the British empire has given us a lot more perspective on this.

* UncertainAudience: On top of having to follow the legacy of the 1959 film, the 2016 version tried wildly different approaches in its trailers. The first trailer emphasized the EpicMovie action like the chariot race and the sea battle, but drew criticism for being "another soulless CGI fest" and remake. Apparently in response, the second trailer opened with a Bible quote and emphasized the role of Jesus, which ''also'' drew criticism as the 1959 movie had kept Jesus as TheFaceless for maximum dramatic effect.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The 1959 movie version is such a highly-regarded classic that audiences were generally unenthusiastic towards the 2016 remake.

* {{Narm}}: The ''non-stop'' shouting of both Judah and Messala during the ChariotRace makes it nigh-impossible to take seriously.

* JustForFun/RoleAssociation:
** This film is ripe for it. [[Series/BoardwalkEmpire Richard Harrow]] and [[Film/KongSkullIsland King Kong]] are brothers who are ruled by [[Series/GameOfThrones Euron Greyjoy]]. Richard is enslaved and meets [[Series/GameOfThrones Jeor Mormont]] for a time. Eventually, he makes the acquaintance of [[Film/BatmanBegins Lucius Fox]] and gets revenge, all while [[ComicBook/ThreeHundred Xerxes, God-King of Persia]], is preaching and eventually getting crucified in the background.

* UncertainAudience: On top of having to follow the legacy of the 1959 film, the 2016 version tried wildly different approaches in its trailers. The first trailer emphasized the EpicMovie action like the chariot race and the sea battle, but drew criticism for being "another soulless CGI fest" and remake. Apparently in response, the second trailer opened with a Bible quote and emphasized the role of Jesus, which ''also'' drew criticism as the 1959 movie had kept Jesus as TheFaceless for maximum dramatic effect.

* MisaimedFandom: There have been comments that the 2016 version is the most faithful adaptation of the novel. In truth, the film has no standalone elements that came directly from the novel.

--->''O Roma, o Roma...'' (Oh Rome, oh Rome...)
--->''Legio aeterna, aeterna, victrix.'' (Legion eternal, eternal, victorious.)
--->''Sit Italica sua vis, nostrum munus patri Marti.'' (Her strength is Italian, our duty to the father Mars.)
--->''Supra terram Britannorum volat aquila legionum.'' (Above the land of the Britons flies the eagle of the legions.)
--->''A ferventi aestuosa Libya volat aquila legionum.'' (From scorching hot Libya flies the eagle of the legions.)