I have seen both the 1959 and the 2016 version. I agree with the reviewer, about the Massala character in the latest version, very weak. After many years in the Roman army, he returns home as just the same guy who seemed to not have learned anything from traveling throughout the world.
I think evil characters are stronger in movies where they can articulate their reasons for what they are doing. Massala (1959) was very clear why he did what he did to Ben-Hur. You don’t have to agree with him, but at least you could see his point. And even after losing the race, he stuck it to Ben-Hur one last time, telling him his mother and sister were lepers. There was no reconciliation.
The ‘59 version won 11 Academy Awards. Hard to top that.
The 1959 movie was 3 1/2 hours and the new one is only 2 hours and 5 minutes. So they must have left a lot of scenes out.