There have been many puns about the film The Agony and the Ecstasy, but it really does seem to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of movie. If you're genuinely interested in the time period of Michelangelo and you adore the Sistine Chapel, there's a good chance you'll find the two hours a real pleasure. If you don't really care, and Rex Harrison has a tendency to get on your nerves, the movie will be more than a bit tedious.
For me, although I've seen the Sistine Chapel in person, I really wasn't riveted by this movie. I recognized that it was an epic and a lot of effort went into it, but I didn't really see it as anything more than Ben-Hur arguing with Henry Higgins for two hours and eighteen minutes. I probably wasn't the target audience, as I'm not really an art lover and I don't pay very good attention to wordy, stilted, old-fashioned dialogue. Give it a chance if you are the target audience, and you might also find you like A Man for All Seasons, which I also found boring.
For me, although I've seen the Sistine Chapel in person, I really wasn't riveted by this movie. I recognized that it was an epic and a lot of effort went into it, but I didn't really see it as anything more than Ben-Hur arguing with Henry Higgins for two hours and eighteen minutes. I probably wasn't the target audience, as I'm not really an art lover and I don't pay very good attention to wordy, stilted, old-fashioned dialogue. Give it a chance if you are the target audience, and you might also find you like A Man for All Seasons, which I also found boring.