Noah (2014) - Movie Review

Noah is the first Biblical epic in quite some time to be a good film. It focuses on bringing a heavenly story from over 4,000 years ago into the modern age of film, and it does so quite well. The acting is impeccable, and the great ensemble cast exceeds expectations. Russell Crowe delivers one of his best performances as Noah, making him gritty and realistic enough to relate with. The entirety of Noah's family also has good performances, especially Emma Watson and Logan Lerman as Ila and Ham, respectively. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins delivers as Methuselah, Noah's primary mentor, making him very similar to Odin in the Thor movies. Ray Winstone also has a fantastic performance as Tubal-Cain, being both physically and mentally imposing as the antagonist. Overall, a beautifully acted movie that will get overlooked come next awards season, as all early releases are.

Noah is fantastic visually as well. The direction from Darren Aronofsky shows a personal touch that is often missing in so many big-budget films. The visual style is far from the usual grandiose look that biblical films often have; instead Aronofsky opts for a gritty look, in a similar way that 2013's Man of Steel did to differentiate itself from the original Superman movies. This is compounded by the choice of Iceland as the location chosen to shoot the film, as the lush landscapes of the Fertile Crescent are replaced with the harsh Icelandic landscape. The cinematography makes Noah look fantastic, further adding to its realism and grit. The set design of the ark is phenomenal and abandons all previous incarnations of the famed vessel, opting for a box instead of any resemblance of a boat. The visual effects also bring the animals and ocean to life, making an already good movie even better. The best part about the visual aspect of Noah is that nothing distracts from the film itself; instead, it simply adds another dimension to it.

Noah is also well-written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel. Now, before you start calling me out for blasphemy, let me tell you that this is not a literal Bible-to-screen adaptation. That being said, the liberties taken with the original Genesis account are mostly slight and do not detract from the original meaning of the story. Some are more noticeable than others; for example, Ila even being in the story is more noticeable than Lamech's death or Cain's descendants robbing the earth's resources in their constant imperial expansion. The only true element of artistic license that detracted from Noah for me was the scene where Noah recounts the creation story to his family. The story itself is accurate; however, the footage accompanying it risks being downright offensive to believers of any of the three faiths that believe in the Great Flood (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) because it depicts theistic macro-evolution as the way God created the world. This is inexcusable, even if Aronofsky himself is an atheist. Please be sensitive to your target audience, Hollywood.

I won't go into any of the other inaccuracies because I truly want you to see this movie. Noah is a very good start to this year's blockbuster season and arguably rises above almost every other Biblical epic made. Its superb acting and direction, along with some traditional yet enthralling Hollywood embellishment, make it a film for everyone to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10