I don't know if CGI is 'the easy way out'. It's certainly an economic issue, and Hollywood going down the profitable route is nothing new.

Hur is the epitome of the Biblical epic: bloated and insubstantial, with such a detailed eye and high production value that its style alone can easily sweep its audience away.

It may well be sincere, but it is bloated even so, to the point that almost every single scene unfolds in a succession of delayed responses and emotional overkill. It's heavy-going but at times lovely to look at - widescreen is used to great effect. The chariot race, which gets the second half after the intermission going, is mesmerising filmmaking, dramatic and drawn-out, but worth it all the same; and the sea battle, around halfway through the first half, is one of the rare moments in the film when Wyler intrudes upon the methodic rhythm and induces a hard-worn feeling by means of fast cutting and a relentless musical beat.

Relentless grandeur.