Flash Review: Noah [2014]
The perfect biblical adaptation for a Marvel-obsessed world; this Noah-as-action hero epic is thoroughly entertaining. Occasionally corny and overwrought (the source material is not known for restraint or subtlety, after all), but that is quickly forgotten with riveting action set pieces, impressive visuals and a very talented cast where Jennifer Conelly absolutely shines. Darren Aronofsky does a terrific job at handling the darker elements of the story, and even amidst the overload of CGI, you can tell this is the mind behind Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan.
Nice one Fernando! You’re quick off the mark with this review: it’s the first I’ve read. Somehow this doesn’t strike me as an Aronofsky project though.
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Yeah, I think we got it first than most countries. Whole lot of catholics here, after all. And I also thought it wasn’t something Aronofsky would usually do, but his mark is evident.
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Urgh you saw it before me!
So here’s a question. If I took my Christian, 76-year-old, movie-violence-hating grandmother to see it, do you think she’d enjoy it (or find it decent)?
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I don’t think she would. actually. It’s a biblical adaptation, so there’s that, but there’s also some pretty dark and/or violent stuff.
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Is it comic booky at all? I mean she enjoyed Son of God (a PG-13 like Noah) but she says The Passion of the Christ was just too much for her. I should rephrase: she doesn’t like pointless, “shoot ’em up” (her words) violence. At all.
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Kinda comic-booky but I wouldn’t call the violence gratuitous, and it’s not nearly as violent as Passion.
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All right. I think she’ll enjoy it. If nothing else, she’ll come out of the theater going, “You know, I’ve never really thought about it till now, but the bible is so violent!” Lol I can just hear her saying it… Thanks man.
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LOL, it is!
You’re welcome 🙂
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I want to see it, but I’m so skeptical. Your review is helpful, still….I don’t understand why Arnofsky did this?!
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It’s a weird choice, for sure, but he delivers. The darker stuff is right up his alley.
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Perhaps you should have called this tour Flash Flood Review 😉
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LOL. Why didn’t I think of that?!
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Flash Flood review! Ahah, that’s a good one Mark 😀
I’m not sure when I’ll see this as I missed the AM screening earlier this week, but I’m curious to see this one. “…the source material is not known for restraint or subtlety” Well I for one don’t have an issue with that, I think if a filmmaker were to use a Biblical story, my hope is they’d give it the respect It deserves.
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I agree. Nobody likes a toned-down adaptation, especially from The Bible, right? This is rightfully epic.
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Glad to hear! I”m not the biggest Aronofsky fan so the main draw (mainly out of curiosity) is the story 😀
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Hope you enjoy it!
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Nice write-up. Can’t wait to see this!
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Thanks, Anna! It’s very exciting.
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Great review, Fernando. Glad to see it’s entertaining.
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Thanks, Mark. I didn’t expect such a riveting action film, but that’s what I got.
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I finally posted my review. I was, say we say, somewhat less impressed than you.lol
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Let’s see, then…
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Nice review man, I am glad to see more positivity towards this film, I’m still not entirely sure what to think about it but I’m definitely thinking it could have been handled a whole heck of a lot worse. There were some scenes that seemed strange to me, but perhaps this is a result of it being made by Aronofsky. All around, a pretty solid film. And definitely epic!
It definitely did not disappoint my Epics of 2014 list, that’s for sure. 😀
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Agree on epic! Definitely delivers there 😉 There were some weird scenes, and I wasn’t sold on the Watchers, but overall a very solid film. Connelly was superb.
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Yeah I’m really still trying to process the Watchers aspect. That was almost too sci-fi-y. lol
But yes, agreed. Connolly was amazing and it’s good to see she has sobered up from the last time she worked with Aronofsky. 😉
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I read a tweet from Joseph Gordon-Levitt today that said he too found it weird and read that book from the Bible and it does mention the giants. Nevertheless, they were so weird and LOTR-y.
LOL. No ass-to-ass in this ark!
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Overall, I liked it. I usually despise religion films because they do little to further or elevate a discussion of religion, but I thought this was decent, big-budget entertainment from a very talented director. I discussed the biblical aspects on my review (I am a Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholar by trade).
http://fromthedeskandshelf.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/noah-a-review/
Still, wonderfully concise review!
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Thank you (and thanks for following!) I’ll check out your review later today. Yeah, it’s not particularly insightful but very entertaining.
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