Noé

Just watched this on Pay-Per-View having missed a chance to see in theaters (dithered over whether or not to see it due to wildly mixed reviews). It was visually engaging enough to keep me watching till the end but as the credits began to roll, I found myself feeling dissatisfied.

Some of the scenery and shots featuring animals were really cool, I found myself wishing for more (that is, more time spent on animals...and a closer look at different species as imagined by the creators of this film).

Ray Winstone is a distinguished actor but I found his portrayal at times creepy, at times laughable, overall weak (how much of this was due to direction and/or other factors...not sure, when it comes to this film I didn't get a sense either way). Emma Watson and Jennifer Connelly impressed me, I got a sense of quiet strength from their characters.

Russell Crowe, also one of my favorite actors (I thought his Robin Hood was masterful, a fresh new take), disappointed. Without giving anything away, there were some parts of this film that called for a more dramatic narrative...his timing and (at times) rushed speech took away from the grandeur of what was meant to be an epic film. You find yourself wishing he would deliver certain lines a bit more theatrically, like David Wenham in 300 or one of the greats of classic film (Charlton Heston, perhaps).

I didn't realize when I started watching that Anthony Hopkins was also in the film. When he popped up on screen I laughed and thought: 'Of course...can't make an epic film without Anthony Hopkins!' Probably just me but it seemed a bit tired as far as casting goes.

I might have enjoyed it more on the big screen but don't regret watching at home on my TV. Bottom line, entertaining enough to watch...just a bit of a let-down.

When putting on Noah I had heard a lot of negativity about this movie. I do not know if it is Christians not supporting this adaptation, or if it is atheists thinking it is way to much Christian propaganda. I am a atheist, and I like good stories on the screen. What I liked about this movie was that feeling of adventure the likes of LOTR and Star Wars, a movie adaptation of a biblical story that is up there with other science fiction and adventure films. It didn't make the story about Noah more plausible, but it was a great story, set in timeless environments. I have read the genesis story even though I'm not a Christian, and in my opinion this adaptation is quite accurate and true to the biblical story, with some tweaking here and there. A little gnostic view points here and there, but all in all something fresh made from a old and boring book, made a little bit more interesting. Have an open mind, and don't watch it with an preconceived notion. Watch it like you would with any other story made for the screen.

Quickie Review:

Noah is a new epic that is based on the biblical story, and helmed by director Darren Aronofsky. The story is about a man who is tasked with building an ark to save the innocent, from the cleansing of the world by a great flood. With a stellar cast of Russell Crowe (Noah), Jennifer Connelly (Naameh), Ray Winstone (Tubal-cain), Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins, and Nick Nolte, Noah truly had everything right to be an incredible movie. Unfortunately, the pacing of the third act falters and all the character development of the main cast is spiked up to the extreme, rendering them completely un-relatable. In the end, this is quite a forgettable movie that doesn't need to be seen from a purely movie quality perspective.

Full Review:

I feel that I should state this before I go any further – I do not affiliate myself with any religion, nor am I against religion. This review comes purely from someone who loves movies in general. Nothing more, nothing less.

With that out of the way, let's move on with the review. In the movie, Noah (Russell Crowe) lives in a dark world that is corrupted by wickedness. He receives messages from the creator, showing him visions of a great flood that covers the whole world. Noah must now build an ark with his family to save the innocent (all wildlife other than mankind).

I'll start off with some things that I did like about this movie. Normally Darren Aronofsky is known for tackling deeply personal stories that are more of a character study. It is nice to see him break from his norm and make a movie of a much grander scale, while still bringing his touch when it comes to developing his characters, especially with Noah. Russell Crowe should also be commended for his great performance. Just from his facial expression, you can tell how much burden he feels weighing on his shoulders. The world that is created is extremely well realized. The atmosphere is dark and drab, and you really feel the rotting air of the world. Overall the movie was captivating and well- paced… right up until the third act, after the flood scene.

Third act is really where everything just falls apart. Now I won't spoil anything, for anyone who wants to watch the movie. Still I need to mention few things to explain why things go wrong for this movie. For some reason the whole cast makes a sudden shift from balanced and complex characters, to be completely driven and defined by their base instincts. So for example, Noah becomes completely blinded by his devotion and divine purpose that he almost becomes villainous. These changes in character comes so suddenly that it feels out of place. Also the movie comes to such a snail crawling pace that I felt the need to check my watch a few times.

This was a movie that had the potential to be a great character driven movie, set in an epic scale. It did show this promise for the most part in the beginning. However, a sudden change in tone and pacing issues ended up making it feel like it was dragging on. I say skip this movie, because even if you watch it, you will forget about it in a few days.

The film reaches a good level of quality. The character interpretations are decent. The story is not exciting. It contains action, drama and biblical teaching from a modern point of view, it's written to approach new audiences. Quite often I find that some of the actors exaggerate when they scream and cry; Ray and Russell are handling very well not to get out of their paths. I would have given more stars but it is very annoying when within the dialogs and the biblical teachings there are actors who impose their presence above the calibration of their colleagues. Very nice photography and intelligent scenery with smooth advanced effects which give life to the narrated story of Noah. Creator and creations, will and desire, all are placed together and in the end it all makes sense.

I'll start by stating I'm a Christian, and of course the movie is different from the Genesis account, because it also adds a bit from the Apocryphal text of the Book of Enoch, although there are differences there too, and it's a movie and needs embellishing because Noah's story is only like three pages. Artistic license in any film is a given. You think Braveheart is historically accurate? No, but it's a darn good film and nonetheless it's true.

I believe Christians get too caught up in the "letter of the story" and can't accept the Spirit of a story. Noah is a deeply complicated man in this film, as all people prophets of God are. I felt the filmmakers captured the spirit of the man well. I love how it shows his personal struggle to even want to save mankind after witnessing the violence and depravity of most of his fellow beings. Do we deserve to survive? The movie tackles that head on and says unequivocally ,"Yes!" in the end. God loves us and knows we can be good if we choose to follow him.

The story is fun, uplifting, and shows the true difficulty of interpreting and following the will of God. This film shows the power of forgiveness and redemption also, first with the fallen "Watchers" from the Book of Enoch, and then Noah's family as well. The Watchers also gave the film a "Lord of the Rings" vibe which I appreciate. The story is complicated and there are moral dilemmas to be solved.

Is it a perfect film? Heavens no! But it is a good one and made me appreciate what Noah and his family may have gone through in all its richness and complexity, and made me grateful to have Mr. And Mrs. Noah as my ancient covenant parents. I enjoyed it thoroughly and will watch it again one day.