Noah (directed by Darren Aronofsky) follows the story from the Bible generally well but does take several artistic liberties - some good and some bad. The movie begins with a brief history pointing out that the descendents of Cain have thrived greatly over the descendents of Seth (Adam's two living sons since Cain killed Abel) with the help of the Watchers (a combination of fallen angels and the Nephilim). Noah (played by Russel Crowe) - the last descendent of Seth - receives a vision in a dream of a global deluge that will not destroy creation but cleanse it. He believes he is chosen by God (Who is referred to as 'The Creator' in the movie) to help carry out God's Will by building an Ark to restore God's creation after the flood. When he realizes that his sons need wives in order to repopulate the Earth, he journeys to a nearby village where he sees all manner of evil. Mankind has ravaged the Earth utilizing virtually all natural resources and even resorting to cannibalism. This convinces Noah that perhaps it is God's intention for Noah's family to be the last humans.
There are practically two separate plots in this movie. The first half is about figuring out Noah's dream and building the Ark in order to save creation. The second half of the movie is about Noah's cold condemnation of humanity which amalgamates to if his grandchild is a girl, he will kill her in order to prevent her from becoming a mother to mankind.
Before I talk more about the first half of the film, I really need to address what I feel is its worst aspect. The Watchers are some of the poorest CGI creations I have ever seen in a movie and seem really out-of-place in this biblical epic. I can give the added complaint that the Watchers are nothing like their counterparts in the Bible. In the movie, they wanted to help mankind so much that they rebelled against God in order to do so whereas in Genesis they rebelled in order to lay with human women. The Nephilim don't really exist in this movie, but the fallen angels become these horrible looking stone giants (a translation for Nephilim) but not the "mighty men who were of old, men of renown". Admittedly when I was reading about the Noah movie, I was really excited to see that Semyaza and the other fallen angels who are mentioned more in the book of Enoch (part of the apocrypha - not the Bible) would appear in the movie only to be sorely disappointed by this interpretation. Ignoring my disappointing preconceptions, the Watchers have descent motivations but their look honestly ruined every scene with them. Besides looking out-of-place, the way they interacted with the film reminded me of really bad animation in live-action movies from several decades ago. I can forgive their unbiblical premise, but I cannot forgive their screen presence.
Despite the Watchers, the first half drowns this movie. It is very slow and not a whole lot is happening in it. It starts with exposition which helps explain Darren Aronofsky's view of the antediluvian world. The vision that Noah dreamed turns into a quest to find Noah's grandfather which seems like Noah and his family walking around surrounded by nothing. They add a little tension by having them be chased, but I couldn't feel any. When they finally reach Methuselah (played by Anthony Hopkins), he saves the first half a little bit because he is very charming and adds some humor. The movie slows down again when they are building the ark.
The second half of this movie almost made me like this movie. It's ironic that the first half wastes the wonders and mysteries of the antediluvian world, yet the second half takes place entirely inside of the ark and is an entirely more interesting story. Because of Man's evil, Noah is convinced that mankind should die with his family. When he learns that he may have grandchildren, he becomes very cold and states that if his grandchild is a girl, he will kill her in order to prevent her from becoming a mother for more humans. As you may have guessed, the protagonist of the movie has suddenly turned into the antagonist. Now needless to say, this is not the biblical version of Noah in any way shape or form, but I really liked this interpretation. You will literally hate Noah yet understand him at the same time. All of the actors are great.
There are some minor nit-picks like where did Methuselah get a flaming sword (and what happened to it) and why did Seth's descendents carry around the serpent skin from the Garden of Eden. I can also complain about how biblically inaccurate it is (as another example - in Genesis, all of Noah's children had wives who made it on the ark whereas in the film, they didn't), but the slow first half and the Watchers is what ruined the movie for me. I definitely could recommend this as a rental and you can choose to skip to the part where they're on the ark, but I can't really recommend seeing this in theaters.
I give this 2 stars out of 5
1 star = I hated it. Avoid it at all costs.
2 stars = I didn't like it, but you might.
3 stars = I liked it. Doesn't warrant a repeat viewing.
4 stars = I really liked. Has rewatchability.
5 stars = I loved it. Make plans to watch it.
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