Noah review

NOAH:

WHILE NOT THE MOST ACCURATE TELLING OF THE STORY, IT’S FILLED WITH IMPRESSIVE VISUALS AND EPIC ACTION!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Russell Crowe as Noah

            Director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan) brings the epic Bible myth to life in his latest film, Noah. And while I don’t think it’s up there with The Wrestler or Black Swan, it’s a damn impressive flick, mainly in the visual department.

            The story honestly gets rather unfocused and a little ridiculous with some of the side-concepts, but it’s still an entertaining plot for a big budget epic.

            A middle-aged man named Noah (Russell Crowe-Man of Steel, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) is having visions of what’s going to happen in the future, a terrible flood is going to strike and destroy everything. So he thought of a possible solution, build an Ark for the innocent and remaining living beings (humans and animals).

            With the help of his wife, Naameh (Jennifer Connelly-Labyrinth, A Beautiful Mind, The Day the Earth Stood Still), two sons, Shem (Douglas Booth) and Ham (Logan Lerman-Percy Jackson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower), grandfather, Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins-Hitchcock, Thor, Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Shem’s wife, Ila (Emma Watson-Harry Potter franchise, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, This is the End), and a group of giant rock creatures known as the Watchers, the Ark will be built and Noah will try and do what he thinks is right for the world or die trying.

            Overall Noah while undeniably flawed in certain stages, I thought was pretty fun and filled with epic action. The special effects are great, the action is awesome and the style of action is rather similar to films like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia (Most notably The Two Towers and Prince Caspian), and the drama is thrown in very well in the movie.

             The character development is also very strong and a lot of the characters’ thoughts and actions will keep you guessing until the very end, especially the protagonist himself, Noah (Just trust me on this!).

            So Noah was entertaining as a whole, but my only slight issue with the film is the story being a little cluttered and unfocused in the beginning and middle acts. Whenever the Watchers showed up I felt like I was watching a completely different movie, but that’s not a bad thing, the Watchers are awesome, but they can be a little distracting at times in the film.

            So the movie probably falls flat as an accurate telling of the Bible story, but as an epic film on its own, it’s done pretty well. The atmosphere of the film’s world is great and immerses you into its own world (especially if you see it on IMAX), the action is exciting, the special effects are amazing, and the acting is decent.

            If you’re curious or looking for an exciting epic with lots of special effects and action, give this flick a watch and judge for yourself.