300 is a movie that I never really immensely enjoyed back when it was released and even today, found it to be great to look at, but little emotion behind the amazing visuals, though some of the fight scenes were pretty bad-ass.
This adaptation of Ben-Hur wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but that doesn’t mean it should’ve been made. However, at least Jack Huston gives an earnest and heartfelt performance while Morgan Freeman basically phoned in his performance and the visual effects were mostly impressive.
While The 33 certainly tells a compelling story, this film adaptation of it is a bit too paint-by-numbers and doesn’t come close to living up to the actual news coverage which from my recollection was nearly 24/7.
Focus had the chance to be great and instead makes for a good film that reminds you how charming Will Smith can be. Add to that another great performance from Margot Robbie and you’ve got two actors who could overcome any of the issues with the script, and its schitzo storytelling between the two halves, and makes for an all around fun movie that might be worth a rental.
300: Rise of an Empire has some things to be admired from the visuals, which director Noam Murro copied from Zack Snyder and Eva Green who is the only one that gave anything resembling a memorable performance and her alone is the only reason one should bother with this sequel.