Noah

Darren Aronofsky tries to take this Biblical story out of the Bible. For some, it is easy to say that the film is only inspired by original story. But for the religious moviegoer, the fact that the names of the characters remain unchanged and that the back-story is that of the first few chapters of Genesis make it hard to separate "Noah" from the Bible. There are many themes in the film that are also religious in nature. The best quality of the movie was the drama & acting and that also appears to be the focus of the film. Because the story took a backseat in "Noah", the film may not be worth seeing in the theaters.

This almost feels like a post-apocalyptic film instead of taking place anciently and that is on purpose. I am sure that is meant to entice non-religious people to see it. The consequence of that is that you lose your religious audience to some extent. The story of Noah is a favorite from the Bible mostly because of the romantic notion of traveling on a floating zoo. The moment that incense appeared in the film, that appeal was lost. The special effects were pretty good for the most part except with the Watchers. Sometimes, they appear to be stop-motion animated and other times CGI. While it is obvious that in the whole film they are computer animated, what I wish to point out is the inconsistency in their animation. They also separate the film story from the traditional story. A couple of cinematic elements impressed me. The style of montage was pretty inventive. I also liked the shot of the people clinging to the mountain in hopes of surviving the flood. One part of the film's story I applaud concerns the Fall of Adam. In the film, it is said that the Creator gave Adam and Eve a choice. That is very much in line with what I believe. It was part of God's plan for Adam and Eve to transgress the law. One way that this film really deviates from the Bible is there is no mention of Satan. Man is made out to be evil and good with no explanation of why men are tempted to commit evil. To sum this all up, the story of Noah was not the central feature.

The best quality of this show was the acting and drama. The film has a lot of Oscar winners: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Hopkins. They all had some great moments. This is an interesting reunion by the way of Crowe and Connelly, having stared together in "A Beautiful Mind". Hopkins was a great choice as Methuselah. I forgot that Ray Winstone was in this show until he yelled because I could hear Beowulf. His makeup was well done. Another great performer was Emma Watson. It would have been neat to see Dakota Fanning as Ila but I have no problem with the work that Watson did. It will be some time though before she looses her persona as Hermione. Other familiar names in "Noah" were Frank Langella and Dakota Goyo.

I again bring up the statement that this film is supposedly only inspired by the Biblical story. This film is too similar to the story in Genesis to be only inspired. Many parts of the story of Noah are followed in this film such as the drunkenness of Noah and the disaffection of Ham. Just like "West Side Story" is obviously "Romeo and Juliet", "Noah" is obviously the story of Noah. The disclaimer that accompanies the film sounds a lot like the one at the start of "The Prince of Egypt". The difference is that DreamWorks meant what they wrote while the filmmakers behind "Noah" focused on human drama. "The Prince of Egypt" also had influence from religious scholars during its production and its focus was on the Biblical themes. "Noah" was a little depressing to watch. Sure the performances were good but I like a great story more.

3 Stars out of 5