A Flood of Criticism

Written by R. Herbert

March 19, 2014

Opinions are already swirling around Darren Aronofsky’s  upcoming movie “Noah,” starring Russell Crowe and due for release in the United States on March 28.  The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar have already announced they will ban the movie in their countries; Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan are also expected to ban the film.  Several Christian individuals have spoken out against it, though some have apparently not yet seen it. Other Christians who have seen early releases feel that the film is a very positive attempt to portray the biblical story of the Flood.

Despite the controversy, the movie is drawing many positive early reviews.  Access Hollywoood describes it as “The First Must-See Blockbuster of the Year” and The Washington Post states, “If you liked ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Gladiator,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ or ‘Titanic,’ you will like ‘Noah.’ If you liked two or more of the above, you will love ‘Noah.’ Your enjoyment increases exponentially with each movie checked above …”

Although I have only seen the movie trailer, it certainly looks like a well-made film and one which seems (judging only by the trailer) to have a respectful attitude toward its subject. The Washington Post review quoted above says, “It Glorifies Virtue In The Highest,” but how biblically accurate it is remains to be seen.  Actually, while the Bible carefully describes the Ark and certain details of the Flood story, it gives few details regarding the background situation, so some artistic or cinematographic license is probably unavoidable in making a movie such as this.

At this point we have only another ten days to wait to get more first-hand reports on the movie, but we can already think about whether we wish to see it, what our standards will be in judging it, and how we might use it in conversations with others.  We may have mixed feelings or assessments of the movie, but either way, it looks as though theatres will be deluged by moviegoers wanting to see “Noah” when the doors open on March 28.  It is certainly a film that will be a natural topic of conversation for the coming weeks. You can see the trailer for the movie here.

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