Sporting a critically
acclaimed cast and an amazing story to build upon, Noah is one of those films
which has succeeded in recreating a biblical epic into an amazing
film.
The film Noah is the number
one rated box office movie at $125 million dollars, which is banned in Qatar,
Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, and expected to be banned in some other countries
as well. It is a non-religious movie that was inspired by the biblical tale of
how Noah was called upon by the almighty God to build the Ark in preparation
for a global flood, the plot as such requires no further introduction.
This
film however it is NOT a strict version at all of what some people believe is
taken from the biblical tale. It does take some artistic license, because the
intent is merely to provide an entertainment movie and make money while
entertaining people. The leading character Noah is played by none other
than...yes you guessed it, Russell Crowe who comes forth as the strong silent
type. He played in the top rated film Gladiator which established Crowe's
on-screen tough guy persona as being someone you don't want to mess with. Noah
of course is a larger than life role that any actor must grow into. This
includes Russel Crowe who must compete for viewer attention with mind numbing
special effects which are seldomly seen on screen and in cinema with that
authentic wow reaction that we all had the first time we saw Jurassic Park, but
the wows keep coming as the film is given an authentic feeling of under the
fingernail deeply embedded very coarse shades of gray, grit and grim throughout
this action packed often with violent frenetic and occasionally
Anthony Hopkins who plays as Methuselah (Noah's
grandfather) brings a truly authentic quality to the screen unmatched, leaving
the viewer completely defenseless. He makes you really believe you are seeing
and listening to Methuselah who is believed to be the longest living human
being on record, lives in what may only be described as fastidiously spartan
circumstances in a natural cave, wherein a man who has seen everything and has
had everything in his enormously long life, he finds refreshingly extraordinary
pleasures in the simple things such as eating a berry and speaking to his
great-grandchild Japheth (played by Leo McHugh Carroll) in his humble cave
abode.. Hopkins speaks to the simplicity of truth and to the wisdom of honesty
and loyalty to his creator, yet there are whimsical moments where we see that
glean in the eye that is the authentic Anthony Hopkins, who invites us all to
suspend reality and simply believe through the touch which is his gift alone
both on-screen and off.
Noah's
wife Naameh is played by none other then Jennifer
Connelly, the soft feminine yet tough as nails lovely wife of
Noah and mother to his 3 sons. She is in a fight throughout the film in a
pushed to the wall struggle of survival for herself and her children in a world
that is fastidiously coarse, gritty and gratuitously violent. She challenges us
to aspire and hope and to never give up on life because in life there's always
hope and love which is at the essence of her feminine touch. This comes across
as so authentic, so as to leave us feeling touched. She is on a mission to
persuade Noah to save humanity itself. So it is that she has to persuade Noah
not to act on what he believes the message that he has received which is that
God has selected humanity for extinction, in what is clearly a creator designed
global extinction event, which Noah believes includes his family. She must in
order to defend the survival of the human race prevent Noah from sacrificing
his two adopted infant granddaughters who are the last best hope of human
survival, and who are destined to become the mothers of all living human beings
on the earth.
The
screen version of the film Noah apparently harkens back to a time in human
evolutionary history before our appendix went into atrophy when human beings
could eat bloody raw uncooked meat. Once however we moved beyond that finger
licking good event, we see the retrograde state that humanity has fallen
to under the tutelage and influence of Satan wherein greed, unbridled avarice
reminiscent of modern day Wall Streeters became the natural state of existence
of humanity. A quality which was personified in the person of King Tubal-cain,
who is an evil Lord under demonic influence (played by Ray Winstone)
who attempts throughout the film to recruit Noah's young son Ham, (played by Logan Lerman)
to turn to the dark side wherein he pronounces to Tubal-cain to Ham that a man
must not be afraid to take what is rightfully his, so as to vengefully turn him
against his father Noah throughout the movie. More precisely attempts to get
Ham to listen to his own inner most demons, so as to turn to his most base
instincts of his dark side in a movie which is full of supernatural events that
often seem to defy the imagination, physics and logic but in doing so create an
awesome cinematic event fit for the whole family, which includes a tasteful
romantic interlude between Noah's eldest son Shem (played by Douglas Booth)
and Noah's adopted daughter Ila (played by Emma Watson).
This lightens up the often dark coarse gray tones of a movie
which subject matter seems vulgar or even psychotic at times, having witnessed
the destruction of the planet earth by water. In what otherwise may only be
described as a struggle of the state of human existence, where we must all
confront the light and the dark sides within us. It is a struggle for personal
identity, hope, resistance, love and survival. This cinematic masterpiece
weaves and blends these elements in a way so as to create a new reality that
allows the viewer to suspend disbelief, and for a few short hours to believe in
Noah and his coarsely built ark. I give this movie a two strong thumbs up.
Bring your friends and family. Heck!, bring the whole neighborhood. It's the
non-religious film that will make you believe. If all you expect is a good
entertainment box office movie that stays true to the human condition and that
makes you think and feel surely you won't be disappointed by the movie, its
acting or the special effects.
Cast:
- Russell Crowe as Noah
- Jennifer Connelly as Naameh, Noah's wife.
- Ray Winstone as Tubal-cain, Noah's nemesis.
- Emma Watson as Ila, Noah's daughter-in-law and Shem's wife.
- Logan Lerman as Ham, Noah's son.
- Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah, Noah's grandfather.
- Douglas Booth as Shem, Noah's son.
- Leo McHugh Carroll as Japheth, Noah's son.
- Frank Langella as Og, a Watcher who helps Noah.
- Dakota Goyo as Young Noah
- Marton Csokas as Lamech, Noah's father.
- Madison Davenport as Na'el, Ham's love interest.
- Nick Nolte as Samyaza, leader of the Watchers.
- Mark Margolis as Magog, a Watcher.
- Kevin Durand as Rameel, a Watcher
- Nolan Gross as Young Ham
- Adam Griffith as Adam
- Ariane Rinehart as Eve
- Gavin Casalegno as Young Shem
- Skylar Burke as Young Ila
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