Noah: My Review

I finally got to see the movie Noah starring Russell Crowe as Noah along with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Anthony Hopkins. A good strong cast! The movie was directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel, and based loosely on the story of Noah’s Ark. More specifically I believe this was based off a graphic novel that Aronofsky had done.

The story is rather complex and takes liberties with the story as told in the Bible. Since the story is complex and I do not want to spend a long time outlining the plot I will briefly summarize it:

Noah is chosen by The Creator to save the animals as he is going to destroy the Earth because of what mankind has become. To help him in this task are the Watchers, stone creatures that are fallen angels from heaven, who help him build the Ark. Descendants of Cain led by Tubal-Cain arrives with his followers who want to be saved. Tubal-Cain stows away on the Ark. Also on the Ark is Noah’s adopted daughter Ila who becomes impregnated by one of Noah’s sons. This outrages Noah who feels it is his job to complete the Creator’s task to destroy all those who have not been selected to be on the Ark. He vows to kill the child once it is born.

I will leave it at that. I don’t want to spoil the movie. Here is my simple review. Over all I liked it! Good acting, great special effects and a very good story. I like the liberties done with the Biblical epic and this version makes it even more of a fantasy story than I think it already is. I love the look of the Ark itself. In many other times this story has been depicted on screen as this massive ship that always looked very clean and well built. Here in this movie the Ark is massive and looks sturdy but it looks like it was just thrown together and is dirty and messy. It does look like something ancient people would be able to build with the tools and skills at hand…over even stone giants. I also liked the depiction of the animals and how they come to the Ark in groups at different times and how they were sedated for the trip using a special incense.

The human drama driving the story is also well done. Family strife abounds in this movie with Noah coming at odds not only with Tubal-Cain but also his wife and children and adopted daughter Ila. Noah doesn’t come across as a saintly man but a real human being with struggles and faults. He is a man determined to do what he feels the Creator is asking him to do. My only negative comment is that this movie does suffer from the problem that all the recent gritty realistic films are suffering from: namely there is very little joy in this movie! While it is an engaging and well told story with great visuals, the darkness and the heaviness of the film makes it the type of movie that will have limited re-watchable qualities for me. Sure I will re-watch it every now and then once the mood hits me, it just doesn’t have the fun and entertaining value for me. I am sure somewhere in the story they could have had some natural humor to lighten up the mood just a little bit. Even a sense of awe and wonder would have been an improvement.

Overall I did enjoy the movie. I just wish that it wasn’t as dark and serious as it turned out to be. My rating ***½ stars.

Top 20 Super Hero Movies.

First a Disclaimer. I may be one of the few that have not seen Marvels’ The Avengers so that it is why it is not on my list. As soon as I see it I am sure it would be on there! Also, the Dark Knight Rises comes out in two days and I am sure that would be on my list too! 

20. Batman & Robin

I know it is terrible right? But to me it is still a fun and corny movie. 

19. X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Another movie that I don’t think it deserves the bad rap it gets.

18. X-Men

I was never in to Marvel Comics or its Characters that much but I have really enjoyed the movies based on their characters. 

17. GI Joe: Rise of Cobra

The epitome of a fun over -the-top movie.

16. X-Men 2

I solid sequel to the first movie.

15. X-Men: First Class

A very good prequel to the franchise. Very good story. 

14. Green Lantern

I really enjoy this one and think it got a bad rap. The scenes set out in space are the best. 

13. The Mask of Zorro

One of the first superheroes. Very good story with Sir Anthony Hopkins in a delightfully engaging and fun role. 

12. Batman Forever

Another over the top movie but I really like the addition of Robin and how he plays into this story. 

11. Hancock

A bit uneven in places. It gets too serious in the later half of the movie but still enjoyable. I really enjoy Will Smith.

10. Spider-Man 2

I am not always keen on origin stories so that is why I like Spider-Man 2. Sorry, haven’t seen the reboot yet.

9. Kick-Ass

A very different superhero movie!

8. Batman (1989)

Tim Burton’s take on the Caped Crusader is like a graphic novel come to life.

7. Thor

Perfect mixture of science-fiction and fantasy.

6. Superman Returns

Great Special effects! Superman saving the jumbo jet is worth the price of admission.

5. Superman: The Movie 

Gets bogged down in the origin story but once it is rolling it still holds up very well today.

4. The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger’s take on the Joker will be the standard by which all villains and usage of the Joker will be measured. 

3. Batman Begins

I did actually like this one better than the Dark Knight. I think the story is a little tighter in this movie and not as dark.

2. Iron Man

Didn’t know much about him until the movie. Robert Downey Jr. is spectacular both as Tony Stark and Iron Man. 

1. Superman II

With his origin story out of the way Superman gets down to a fun, sometimes corny, action adventure movie with a great villain  and special effects that still hold up well today. The best Superman and superhero story.