Taking on only pieces of the original story, “Noah” brings a new spin on the classic Bible tale.
“Noah” takes on its own interpretation compared to its telling in the book of Genesis, many of which are expanded artistic liberties take by director Darren Aronofsky .
“Noah” is the story of mankind’s fall. A “righteous man” Noah (Russell Crowe ) is given an order by The Creator to build an ark that will protect mankind when he sends down water to flood the Earth. Noah is faced with adversity ranging from an evil king to his own sons.
The film has an all-star cast that lives up to its stature. Russell Crowe takes on a version of Noah as a warrior and environmentalist, fitting his character completely. Jennifer Connelly , Logan Lerman and Emma Watson are a great supporting cast.
However, Anthony Hopkins takes the cake as Noah’s grandfather Methuselah. His character is a powerful man who took on armies with the wrath of God on his side. After his great feats, he becomes a recluse who is visited by Noah for wisdom. Methuselah has the capability to heal and contend with friends and family.
"Noah" boasts stupendous special effects. The fallen angels who become rock-like creatures are good, the flood itself is splendid, but all of the animals arriving to enter the ark are spectacular.
Yet, good acting and great special effects are not enough to make up for the twisted plot. The movie takes too much freedom, but even more, doesn’t use that freedom to make a good plot. There is no benefit to making Noah look like an antagonist at points. There is no benefit to make the characters look strange and there is no benefit to putting in tangential storylines when the film can’t even keep up with its original one.
The story of Noah should have been left alone to its truth in the Bible over creating a film that is good in many respects, but worse in others. “Noah” should drown with the men in the movie.
