Noah - 3 out of 5 27 Mar 14 / M / 138 mins Under normal circumstances, a big screen telling of Noah’s tale wouldn’t be a project that filled me with excitement or intrigue. Although with Darren Aronofsky (The Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream) writing and directing, the circumstances were anything but normal, and consequently my expectations grew. I should’ve kept them lower, as this weird biblical epic fails to fully ignite. The biggest hurdle in Noah is the inclusion of the Watchers – fallen angels who are turned into rock monsters by the Creator – who are so out of place it’s extremely hard to take anything else seriously. There are sparks of brilliance to be found, such as an emotionally powerful scene between Noah (Russell Crowe) and his adopted daughter Ila (Emma Watson) after she has just given birth, yet these are often undercut by something too bizarre to be believable, even in the semi-mystical context of this film. The CGI is at times not up to scratch, especially when the multitude of animals (all digitally created) are on screen, however the huge, Earth-flooding set piece is absolutely breathtaking in both its enormity and its execution. There are no weak links among the cast (also including Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and Logan Lerman) however Crowe is particularly sensational as the eponymous ark-maker, demonstrating why he is still in high demand for these hefty lead roles. This curious take on a well-known story is good, but, with Aronofsky the major force behind it, it’s not good enough.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 01:50:10 +0000
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