Noah (2014)

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1. 

   SpacedJ

   Half Lord of the Rings, half Tree of Life. Need to build an ark in a hurry? Prehistoric Transformers roll out! 10 years 8 months ago
2. 

   monty

   Too bad they forgot to bring along unicorns. 10 years 7 months ago
3. 

   Scratch47

   What a curio. A review of this film is only as good as the person giving it: I'm an ex-church goer who understands the power of myth and story, and still respect what those old stories meant to me as a child. Aronovsky's gambit was to toe the line between producing his usual visually impressive masochistic character study, a religious vision, and a summer blockbuster, and he succeeds to some degree in uniting film fans, Christians and the secular without preaching to any of them. Sure, the source material raises all sorts of questions, and issues of belief or hidden agenda, but these are tackled mostly gracefully and with respect, and enhance the apocalyptic, weighty Biblical mythology, which usually comes with the territory in adapting these kinds of stories (it's dark, serious and intense for sure). In particular, stunning sequences illustrating global warming and evolution, stop short of showing apes becoming human, and end up striking a balance between intellectually and spiritually inquisitive perspectives, as well as the film's tone.
   Yet it's greatest strength is also a thorn in its side. With regards to style and substance, it tries to have its' cake and eat it too - depicting implausible rock monsters on one hand (perhaps the film's only potentially major misstep for many), and then the psychological wear and tear upon the characters on the other, leading us to make suggestive leaps of faith as large as Noah himself. The actors convey the gravity of the narrative well, and invoke ancient cycles of faith, family, morality, archetype and destiny in a very broad and muscular way. Yet we still end up with a flabby final third in the Ark plus some thin tonal joins from all the gear shifting. But then again I'm quite amazed anything of substance or solidity emerged from the boiling pot, particularly given this productions' troubled birth. 'Noah' struggles, but eventually emerges as a portentious and incredibly ambitious blend of mythological depth, spectacle, and Russell Crowe's tortured brooding, albeit a moderately absorbing rather than downright thrilling one. Anyone curious for 'Exodus' this winter? 10 years 8 months ago

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