Should you watch this at weekday movie prices? Yes.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? If you’re not averse to the genre, yes.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 138 minutes (~ 2.5 hours)
(Image from Faith Fusion)
“Noah” is an epic, an adaptation of the Biblical tale of Noah’s Ark – his struggles to build it, and the flood itself. It stars Russell Crowe as the eponymous Noah, Jennifer Connelly as his wife Naameh, Emma Watson as Ila, and Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah. If you like pop culture, it also stars Frank Langella (Skeletor) as Og the Watcher, and Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson) as Ham.
I liked it pretty much, and I must add the disclaimer that I’m Christian. I think it captured the feel of a world that was just born, melding history and mythology (in a way) while spinning a tale of redemption. At its heart, that’s what the story is about – redemption and atonement – but it does it with quiet, powerful visuals.
Which leads me to one of the key strengths of the movie.
(Image from Wall Chips)
Visuals
The sweeping expanse of rolling hills and plains, the flood that engulfs all there is, the horde of animals from all corners of the Earth – all these speak of a world that has not truly seen civilisation the way we had yet. And why would they? Remember, in the universe of “Noah,” it’s only been ten generations since the world was created. Nature still reigns, and it is nature that sweeps them off the face of the planet.
Epic
It truly feels epic, thanks to the visuals. The emphasis on bloodlines, the fact that there are angels around, and the fate of the entire world at stake builds upon a story in which a single man’s decisions will influence all of creation. It’s not a small, personal story – although Noah has his own struggles – but a narrative that has consequences that can still be seen today (like the rainbow).
(Image from Recaps, Reviews & Random Other Stuff)
Angels
I liked the grumpy, flawed angels. I feel it makes them very three-dimensional characters, without resorting to the stereotypes of “evil angels” or “good angels.” It makes them more identifiable to us, especially since their redemption is a smaller echo of humanity’s redemption.
Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah
His performance was very amusing. Although Methuselah speaks with wisdom and presence, he also has this slight… tipsiness to him. Almost as if he were high on… berries. He defies the “wise old man” stereotype and makes us wonder – exactly what are in those berries he’s looking for?
(Image from Christian Film Database)
Of course, no movie is perfect – even a divinely inspired on. And adaptations of such Biblical stories sometimes suffer from problems such as:
Lack of conflict
As annoying as Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone) is, he doesn’t prove to be a huge threat. In fact, there aren’t really very large threats to Noah – the movie is more about a journey than a huge obstacle to overcome. And therein lies the flaw – you aren’t too worried about Noah’s eventual success. Even Noah’s internal conflict in Act Three seems artificial and doesn’t risk too much – after all, we’ve been rooting for Noah the whole time, and whatever he does is justified given how much he’s sacrificed.
Noah goes pyscho in Act Three
It comes too suddenly. Noah’s sudden derision for mankind is explainable, but it doesn’t feel organic – more like a manufactured conflict to give greater thrill to the story. Also, it’s rather extreme – the lengths that Noah would go to for his goals aren’t totally believable, and contradicts his earlier characterisation where he’s kind, loving, and merciful.
Tubal-cain is two dimensional
Played by Ray Winstone, the villain of the piece is a one note character. There’s only one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment where he despairs that God doesn’t hear him – but besides that, every single trait of his is portrayed as negatively as humanly possible. It makes for a very flat character, and dampens whatever conflict he was supposed to bring to the story.
(Image from Liberty Voice)
Still, despite adaptation flaws, “Noah” holds up as a true fantasy epic with a strong (but not didactic) message. If you’re into fantasy, go watch!
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