Although El Cid purports to be a historical epic, there is very little about it that is true to history beyond the names of the people involved.
Considering it does not attempt to be historically accurate, it should have been more exciting. But while there are some impressive scenes of castles and armies and landscapes, there's surprisingly little action. Rather, there are endless sequences of armies marching, parades, and lavish ceremonies that have no purpose in the plot, get boring quickly and needlessly add an hour to the film. Most of the sword fighting sequences are laughably staged, and there is no memorable set-piece battle or other scene, which is why the movie seems to have been forgotten compared to far-superior epics like Ben Hur.
Considering it does not attempt to be historically accurate, it should have been more exciting. But while there are some impressive scenes of castles and armies and landscapes, there's surprisingly little action. Rather, there are endless sequences of armies marching, parades, and lavish ceremonies that have no purpose in the plot, get boring quickly and needlessly add an hour to the film. Most of the sword fighting sequences are laughably staged, and there is no memorable set-piece battle or other scene, which is why the movie seems to have been forgotten compared to far-superior epics like Ben Hur.