Do you need an arc built? Ha, well, I Noah guy.
Ok so today marks the DVD release of Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic that saw Russell Crowe, his family and a band of paired animals attempt to survive the biggest flood known to mankind. Whilst some people adored the film, others called it a wash out.
So here Gloria and Robbie battle it out, who do you agree with?
Ok so today marks the DVD release of Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic that saw Russell Crowe, his family and a band of paired animals attempt to survive the biggest flood known to mankind. Whilst some people adored the film, others called it a wash out.
So here Gloria and Robbie battle it out, who do you agree with?
For Noah - Robbie Jones
The great thing about biblical epics is that you don’t actually have to be religious to enjoy them. If anything, they seem to piss off religious people. But whilst I may not believe in these stories, I do find them fascinating. I’ve always loved the story of Noah’s Ark: A man chosen by God to save the animals of the world as he plans to start a flood. But as it turns out, I didn’t know the full story, which made watching this film all the more interesting.
The story is quite interesting; it gets dark in places and it gets gripping towards the end. The storytelling is helped greatly by the fantastic visuals, which are an absolute treat to look at. In particular the Watchers are absolutely stunning, and the flood effects are perfect, making it very easy to get immersed into the film.
Darren Aronofsky is a craftsman; he takes such care of his films. From Requiem to a Dream to Black Swan, his films look immaculate, and Noah is no exception. Everything is so carefully crafted and neatly detailed, the direction is just superb. There are several conflicting opinions on Aronofksy but if you ask me, he’s one of the best directors working today. He puts a lot of hard work into his films and it ALWAYS shows, and even if you’re not interested in religion or the story, any Aronofsky fan needs to watch this film to once again appreciate the standard of his work.
The great thing about biblical epics is that you don’t actually have to be religious to enjoy them. If anything, they seem to piss off religious people. But whilst I may not believe in these stories, I do find them fascinating. I’ve always loved the story of Noah’s Ark: A man chosen by God to save the animals of the world as he plans to start a flood. But as it turns out, I didn’t know the full story, which made watching this film all the more interesting.
The story is quite interesting; it gets dark in places and it gets gripping towards the end. The storytelling is helped greatly by the fantastic visuals, which are an absolute treat to look at. In particular the Watchers are absolutely stunning, and the flood effects are perfect, making it very easy to get immersed into the film.
Darren Aronofsky is a craftsman; he takes such care of his films. From Requiem to a Dream to Black Swan, his films look immaculate, and Noah is no exception. Everything is so carefully crafted and neatly detailed, the direction is just superb. There are several conflicting opinions on Aronofksy but if you ask me, he’s one of the best directors working today. He puts a lot of hard work into his films and it ALWAYS shows, and even if you’re not interested in religion or the story, any Aronofsky fan needs to watch this film to once again appreciate the standard of his work.
A lot of people assume that biblical films are quite boring, well Noah is far from it. In fact, and here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say, Noah is action packed. Sure, it’s only for one section of the film but that section is damn exciting! The violence is surprisingly brutal for 12A, but it makes it all the much better to watch. But probably the best thing Noah has going for it is its cast. Russell Crowe is fantastic as the title character. He plays him with a strong sense of determination and conflict, and manages to make the character both likable and hateable and have us switching between them. Jennifer Connelly is great as his wife, with Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, two of the most promising talents in Hollywood, turn in decent performances as Noah’s children. But the shining performance comes from Ray Winstone, who plays baddie Tubal-cain. Tubal-cain is ruthless, power hungry and has a desire to survive. It’s very easy to make fun of Ray and some of his acting performances but here he is genuinely brilliant, playing the character to near perfection and providing the film with a fantastic villain, and he might just be one of the best villains of the year so far.
This film is not going to be for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a go. Because for all you know, you might actually enjoy this well acted, beautifully shot and oddly exciting epic, but you’ll never know if you just put it down for being biblical.
This film is not going to be for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a go. Because for all you know, you might actually enjoy this well acted, beautifully shot and oddly exciting epic, but you’ll never know if you just put it down for being biblical.
Against Noah - Gloria Daniels-Moss
Darren Aronofsky, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly? A combination not to be missed, surely? Well I would advise even avid fans of Aronofsky's work to avoid this like the plague. Let's get one thing straight. I am an atheist and always have been. Yet the stories told in The Bible amongst other religions fascinate me, hence my initial interest in this adaptation. I am also a vegetarian and do my best to recycle in order to help our planet we are slowly destroying. Albeit, at what point did Noah become the front face for The Green Party?
The environmentalist agenda is being pushed to bursting point here that it seriously detracts from the film as a whole - regardless of whatever point of view or religion you are coming from. Even though it is hard not to, the point is not dwell on the minutiae of the various religious inaccuracies because even if it isn't word for word taken from Genesis 5, as long as you make a decent narrative out of it, good for you. Yet, this seemed to take all the right things and do all the wrong things with them.
The main point, which seems to glare you in the face, is the utterly wooden and repetitive script. Unfortunately topped off by some awful casting choices and some out right shocking delivery of lines from actors whom I consider top of their game. Crowe as Noah perhaps wouldn't have gone down like a lead balloon if this version weren’t attempting to make Christians seem weak and evil. Casting Ray Winstone as the barbaric carnivorous descendent of Cain was just atrocious (I am lost for words). Having an East End gangster sneaking into a ship and eating through sleeping animals was simply laughable.
Darren Aronofsky, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly? A combination not to be missed, surely? Well I would advise even avid fans of Aronofsky's work to avoid this like the plague. Let's get one thing straight. I am an atheist and always have been. Yet the stories told in The Bible amongst other religions fascinate me, hence my initial interest in this adaptation. I am also a vegetarian and do my best to recycle in order to help our planet we are slowly destroying. Albeit, at what point did Noah become the front face for The Green Party?
The environmentalist agenda is being pushed to bursting point here that it seriously detracts from the film as a whole - regardless of whatever point of view or religion you are coming from. Even though it is hard not to, the point is not dwell on the minutiae of the various religious inaccuracies because even if it isn't word for word taken from Genesis 5, as long as you make a decent narrative out of it, good for you. Yet, this seemed to take all the right things and do all the wrong things with them.
The main point, which seems to glare you in the face, is the utterly wooden and repetitive script. Unfortunately topped off by some awful casting choices and some out right shocking delivery of lines from actors whom I consider top of their game. Crowe as Noah perhaps wouldn't have gone down like a lead balloon if this version weren’t attempting to make Christians seem weak and evil. Casting Ray Winstone as the barbaric carnivorous descendent of Cain was just atrocious (I am lost for words). Having an East End gangster sneaking into a ship and eating through sleeping animals was simply laughable.
The entire film in itself felt a tad confused. You know the feeling when you wake up still fully clothes but somehow perfectly in your duvet? Yup - Noah initially begins with a very biblical theme, then all of a sudden they tried to mix it up a bit with evolution. Which one is it guys? This complete contraction isn't a clever plot device, nor did it provoke thought, it was simply sloppy. Talking of sloppy - how anyone can say the effects in this are groundbreaking, were clearly watching this whilst on acid. The Watchers were almost funny in their ridiculous stone get ups. They looked like a cross between The Iron Giant and Transformers if they were made out of boulders. Certainly not how the Nephilim are perceived in said book and Aronofsky clearly didn't take The Book of Enoch into consideration. Poor fallen angels. Aronofsky on many occasions has bragged that none of the animals used were real - they were anything but. After being spoilt with stunning CGI animals in The Life of Pi, this looked ever so cheap in comparison. Not to mention the fact they felt the need to use CGI new born babies.
Saying that I hate this film would be a slight exaggeration. Stating it is the most flawed film I've witnessed this year and Darren Aronofsky's most disappointing work (what was he thinking?) wouldn't be. It even completely fails to be even a 'so bad it's good' disaster film. Noah was so heavily laced with environmental connotations, only for everything to get swept away in an apocalyptic flood to punish man for eating an apple. The blatant disregard for human life over nature was too apparent, thus making Noah appear to be nothing but a mentally unstable man who is on a mission from ‘The Creator’ – scary thought eh? If only the film focused on other things a bit more rather than producing dull dialogue and a hybrid of Darwinism and Creationism, perhaps it wouldn’t be a complete let down. This film misses the mark on so many levels it is a real shame that the same director who has given is Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream could produce this. Then again, Ridley Scott and The Counsellor, don't get me started.
Saying that I hate this film would be a slight exaggeration. Stating it is the most flawed film I've witnessed this year and Darren Aronofsky's most disappointing work (what was he thinking?) wouldn't be. It even completely fails to be even a 'so bad it's good' disaster film. Noah was so heavily laced with environmental connotations, only for everything to get swept away in an apocalyptic flood to punish man for eating an apple. The blatant disregard for human life over nature was too apparent, thus making Noah appear to be nothing but a mentally unstable man who is on a mission from ‘The Creator’ – scary thought eh? If only the film focused on other things a bit more rather than producing dull dialogue and a hybrid of Darwinism and Creationism, perhaps it wouldn’t be a complete let down. This film misses the mark on so many levels it is a real shame that the same director who has given is Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream could produce this. Then again, Ridley Scott and The Counsellor, don't get me started.
RSS Feed
