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Movie Review: ‘Noah’

“I wouldn’t have gone about it any other way and Noah was the right man to weather this storm” – The Creator, Old Testament.

Hello moviegoers, Oscar winning director of the “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky reaches into biblical lure and renders in vivid splendor an unapologetic and imaginative epic. “Noah” is the story of the man tasked by the Creator to build an ark that would ferry what’s left of mankind into the new world after the old one has been destroyed by flood to cleanse it of Man’s sin.

Noah’ (3 ½ sweet potatoes out of four) Stars: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone; Director: Darren Aronofsky; Genre: Biblical Fantasy, Drama; Rated: PG-13; Runtime: 138 minutes; Opens: Friday, March 28th 2014.

A message from the Creator sends Noah who is understated by (Russell Crowe), with his family in search of the council of his grandfather Methuselah. He’s played by (Sir Anthony Hopkins) as a benevolent sage, who knows the difficult decisions that will have to be made will be Noah’s alone to make. Upon informing Methuselah that the Creator is going to destroy the world by water, Methuselah furnishes Noah with a seed from the Garden of Eden which will spring forth the lush forest that will provide the timber for the ark.

Aronofsky fleshes out a scotched-earth landscape which is plundered by bands of marauders, not unlike a Mad Max scenario with the unrepentant Tubal-Cain who’s played viciously by (Ray Winstone) as the Alfa male. It’s a fate that is nearly Noah, his family and the orphaned Ila’s (Emma Watson) when they are rescued by the Watchers. The Watchers are fallen angels who are gargantuan, disjointed rock creatures now, but were once golden hues of light before their meddling in man’s affairs led to their current state as punishment by the Creator.

The story is advanced with some time-lapse photography but not too much. The impressive ark with the aid of the Watchers is nearing completion and a pair of every animal has begun to board the vessel. Man has fallen into sinful squalor to the point where the ark is the only thing left to be had, and on Tubal-Cain’s command his army descends on Noah’s ark. With the deluge underway, the Watchers engage in an epic battle to secure the ark before the last desperate efforts to board vessel are silenced.

Noah’s evolution is of a man who appears to have a break with reality as his convictions insist he complete what has become a fatalistic task. He is met head-on by a rousing tongue lashing from his wife Naameh played by (Jennifer Connelly) as she implores Noah to reconsider the fate of his family.

Add to the plot natural conflicts that are essential to the very survival of humans. In the case of Noah’s second of three sons, Ham (Logan Lerman), he questions out loud how can he be a man when the Creator hasn’t provided for him a wife. I am told this isn’t as it is in scripture, but here it adds drama to another of the hard choices Noah would have to make. A bold and uncompromising movie with plenty of action; I give ‘Noah’ 3 ½ sweet potatoes out of four.

This has been your resident moviegoer and I will see you after the movies at moviegoersview.com.

MV Staff
MV Staff
Moviegoers View - Entertainment. Culture. Talk.

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