Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ viewed "Ben-Hur" within the context of Wallace's own life. Historian Victor Davis Hanson argues that the novel drew from Wallace's experiences as a division commander during the American Civil War under General Ulysses S. Grant. Hanson compares Wallace's real-life experience in battle, battle tactics, combat leadership, and jealousies among American Civil War military commanders to those of Wallace's fictional character of Judah, whose unintentional injury to a high-ranking military commander leads to further tragedy and suffering for the Ben-Hur family. Wallace made some controversial command decisions, and he delayed in arriving on the battlefield during the first day of the
Ben-Hur (2016 film) as "Misguided, diminished and dismally done in every way". "Rolling Stone" labeled the film "A Remake Disaster of Biblical Proportions." "Empire" summarized it as "Passable for the most part, but laughably inept in places." Sister Rose Pacette wrote a positive review for the "National Catholic Reporter", objecting only to the anachronistic costumes worn by Jewish women in the film. The movie has resulted in a court fight about labor agreements. Ben-Hur (2016 film) Ben-Hur is a 2016 American epic historical period drama film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Keith Clarke and John Ridley. It is the fifth film