Noah

Noah (PG-13, 2hrs 18Mins)

2.5 stars

With all the news coming out about “Noah” and the buzz that has everyone talking about it, it’s not surprising that it was the number one film last weekend.  It does have some merit to it.  Darren Aronofksy put his own version of the story on the screen.  The studio even made sure people knew this by releasing a disclaimer about the film before the movies debut.  Of course that did help the buzz surrounding “Noah” churn even more.

Aronofsky though decided on what he wanted to do and stuck with it.  I will give him credit for that.  The studio did take the liberty of doing some test screening s of different cuts of the film behind his back.  He was not happy about that but the eventual release of the film was Aronofsky’s version.

What he did was at times a beautiful and moving film but at other times just did not make sense.  I realize this is the director’s vision of the story, and I may be called narrow minded for my opinion, but if Cecil B. Demille can stick to the biblical account why can’t Aronofsky? 

If you are going to do a bible story people will want a representation of that story.  Aronofsky did stick to the story but deviated a little from time to time.  Noah did receive visions and I felt this was represented very well in the film.  Also the scenes of the animals coming to the ark were very well done.  They were what gave the movie an epic feel.  I know the animals were computer generated but the scenes of them coming to the ark were magnificent.

I don’t agree with some the interpretations that the director made though.  The giant rock creatures did not seem right to me.  They seemed to be more appropriate for a Michael Bay or Peter Jackson film.  But I can see past them.  There are “Giants” mentioned in the bible so that could be one interpretation of that.

I hate revealing plot point in films because they should be revealed on the screen as the director intended them to be revealed.  So I will only say that portions of the film do not agree with the biblical account of the story.  In fact they differ quite a bit.  This was a sore point for me as I was hoping there would be some return to the origin of the story.  That though was not the case.

If you choose to go see Noah, and many people have.  Go with the right frame of mind.  Do not expect that the director will stick to the biblical account.  In his defense it is a very small portion of the Bible and so he did have some gaps to fill.  Also remember the details you read in the bible are not necessarily going to be shown on screen.

I was intrigued by “Noah.”  I did enjoy a majority of the film and felt that at times I was watching something moving.  After seeing it though, I am not sure I would go back to see it again.  I feel conflicted by this film, but that does not mean this is a bad version of the story of Noah.

‘Noah’: 3 points for parents

Violence – In silhouette, Cain hits Abel and kills him.  Raiding parties kill as they wish.  Giant rock creatures kill humans with weapons.  Hand to hand combat with and without weapons.  Some people think it their right to kill as they wish.  Humans are traded for food.  Animal sacrifice is performed.  Some other animals are harmed.  None of them are real.  Babies are threatened with death.

Gore – Blood is shown in pools.  A girl has a large wound in her abdomen.  The ground a man is standing on is saturated with blood.  A weapon has blood dripping from it.  Bodies are shown underwater in a vision and in a pit in another scene.  A woman steps in a metal trap.  People are tossed about by flood waters.  There are some wounds shown.

Nudity – Only shoulders are seen as a woman and a man begin kissing and then get more passionate.  A woman sits up in bed showing her shoulders, but lower she is covered by blankets.   A man is lying face down on a beach, nude.  He is seen from a distance