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The
story is known on a basic level by most living people today. Disappointed with
the path man has followed, the Creator decides to wipe clean the Earth and
start anew with two of every animal. To ensure their survival, the Creator
visits the good-hearted Noah in a dream, telling him of his plans and
recruiting him to build an ark that would keep everyone on board alive until
the waters settle.
In
this version of the tale, Noah (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) brings his wife, Naameh (Jennifer Connelly, Blood Diamond), and his sons Shem, Ham,
and Japeth, to visit his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) for advice. Grandfather Methuselah gives
Noah a seed to plant an enormous forest that supplies him with wood for the ark,
while providing effectively enjoyable comic relief in all of his appearances.
With the help of fallen angels turned stone giants and a little girl left for
dead named Ila, Noah and his family spend the next decade building the enormous
ark.
Barbaric
descendants of Cain come to demand their place on the ark, forcing Noah to
explain to them that they’re the reason the flood is coming in the first place.
The group retreats with the intention of fortifying an army to claim the ark.
Meanwhile, Noah’s son Ham (Logan Lerman, The
Perks of Being a Wallflower) becomes angry for not having a wife, while he
witnesses the love between his older brother Shem and Ila (Emma Watson, Harry Potter).
As
the storm nears, Noah begins to believe God wants all humans, including his
family, dead. This complicates things when Ila gets pregnant. But Noah’s first
and primary task is guaranteeing the survival of the animals on board his ark,
which becomes difficult as the descendants of Cain come to battle right as the
storm starts.
When
a story is written more than 2,000 years ago, it doesn’t matter how “timeless”
it is – it will need some sort of update(s) if it’s going to cater to modern
movie audiences. Because of that, it’s no surprise that a few changes were made
to the story to add some excitement and to keep the interest of the 21st
century viewers. Not all of these changes went over well in my eyes. The one that stuck out most to me was turning Noah into somewhat of a villain.
Noah has been considered a hero for millennia, and in this movie, he makes many decisions that cost the lives of many innocent people, and almost claim those of two others. Giving a man still held in such high regards a rather villainous and evil spin, regardless of your belief in the man’s true existence, was a bold move that I didn’t see as successful. His actions become so upsetting that his own two sons try to kill him, and in a moment of subpar acting by Connelly, is told by his wife that his actions will push away everyone he loves. Another detractor was the movie’s decision to imply anyone who eats meat is an inhumane being who is considered unworthy in the eyes of God. I mean, did PETA sponsor this movie?
Noah has been considered a hero for millennia, and in this movie, he makes many decisions that cost the lives of many innocent people, and almost claim those of two others. Giving a man still held in such high regards a rather villainous and evil spin, regardless of your belief in the man’s true existence, was a bold move that I didn’t see as successful. His actions become so upsetting that his own two sons try to kill him, and in a moment of subpar acting by Connelly, is told by his wife that his actions will push away everyone he loves. Another detractor was the movie’s decision to imply anyone who eats meat is an inhumane being who is considered unworthy in the eyes of God. I mean, did PETA sponsor this movie?
Where
Noah succeeded most was in the
decision to make the story reliant on visuals, almost turning the movie into a
popcorn flick. Although the line between real story and cinematic beauty
sometimes became blurred, Noah boasted
highly impressive and creative designs for its visual effects without going to
the graphic extent of such films as 300
or Sucker Punch. Not only that, but
the costumes, set design and filming locations made the movie’s optical appeal
its most commendable aspects. And while the epileptics in the audience
might suffer through it, the creatively unique creation scene is worthy of a
positive mention.
So
even though Noah takes an unnecessarily dark turn towards the end of his own
movie, the film itself benefits from mostly strong performances, visual
innovation, and a fitting musical score. Making this story into a page-by-page
adaptation from the Bible wouldn’t have been the best way to appeal to modern
audiences, so by taking a respectably serious but less firm approach, Noah became one of the
best biblical film adaptations I’ve ever seen.
Rating:
4.5/5
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