For all the high-tech showmanship on display, this retelling of Noah and the Ark marks a serious effort to engage with the Old Testament as a literary text.
It's as odd and schizophrenic a picture as you're likely to see in the focus-grouped, play-it-safe moviemaking climate of the moment, and the fact that it exists at all is sort of a (ha ha) miracle.
It's overlong and a times sluggish. The fights and battles, designed to give an epic fantasy feel to the movie, are grave miscalculations. And the overabundance of CGI often makes Noah look like a video game.
(Director) Aronofsky has crafted one firecracker of an adventure film with spectacular effects, vast warring armies and a disaster scenario for the ages. And at its center is a splendid performance by Crowe.
On the whole, Noah is a mad captivating trip. And yes, it's the best movie about boatbuilding and livestock export you are likely to see for a very long time.
