I decided to watch this film simply because the promotional image reminded me of something Christian Jacq might have written. Unfortunately, even though it boasts an impressive-sounding cast list, it’s a remarkably dull biblical story—epic only in how thoroughly it fails to engage from beginning to end. Peter O'Toole has a very short cameo as the prophet Samuel, who learns that a Jewish girl who had been taken prisoner is missing and pregnant. Some time passes, and we find out she gave birth, and now King Xerxes of Persia is searching for a new queen. Could these two plot threads possibly connect? I imagine they could—it's certainly intended to be a significant biblical narrative; Joan Collins starred in a version from 1960 alongside Richard Egan, after all—but this one prioritizes visual spectacle over anything meaningful, with far too much attention paid to the film’s grand appearance and not enough given to questionable casting choices like Luke Goss as Xerxes and Tiffany Dupont as the girl who is meant to guarantee her people's future. Maybe Omar Sharif was occupied elsewhere, but there's little reason to excuse John Rhys-Davies’ overwrought performance or John Noble's similarly one-dimensional portrayal as the story unfolds, lacking both energy and momentum. The script seems to have been lifted from a children's book of lengthy bible stories, and ultimately it doesn't come close to fulfilling its potential. It concludes with a power ballad proclaiming "...One night with a king... changes everything..." Even Bros didn’t resort to lyrics that convoluted. I think that says enough.

Source on TMDB