Noah's grandfather Methusaleh gives Noah a seed from the garden of Eden. The seed instantly transforms into a forest, providing wood and shelter. It also attracts the ruthless hordes of Tubalcain, who are intent on getting into the ark.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this on-screen debut of Noah. However, I came away with a deeper understanding of the magnitude of the job he was tasked with. When his family members begin to turn on him, you can't help but feel his isolation even as you're amazed at his dogged determination to go forth with the ark project. Noah voices conflicted emotions about being part of a divine design to destroy a sinful humanity when he sees the same sin within himself.
Noah believes God's plan is that once all other humanity is destroyed by flood, his family will be the last men. He gives instructions to his sons. As each family member dies off, the next younger person is to bury them until no one is left. This really doesn't offer a plausible explanation for the flood because why save 8 only to have them ultimately die later? When Noah discovers that his daughter in law is pregnant, he realizes that he must kill the child upon birth. She and Noah's eldest son try to escape only to have Noah ruthlessly burn their escape raft, triggering an emotionally farcical scene where Noah remains deaf to the hysterical pleas of his wife, son, and daughter in law.
Plenty of artistic license is introduced, naturally. The animals are put to hibernation with a kind of sleeping incense, Tubalcain manages to hack a hole in the side of the ark to let himself in and hide out. Noah's wife (Jennifer Connelly) is rather nagging and interfering, like a wife who won't let her husband buy a hot rod with the kids college money. Noah retells his children the story of the fall, beautifully accented with CGI, explaining why and how the serpents skin has now become a relic with a kind of power. Tubalcain is another famous Bible figure who is known as the originator of all bronze and ironwork. The fallen angels, who help Noah build the ark, get released from their stone bodies when attacked by the hordes and are then "sent" back to heaven, which seems a bit of a stretch since they are banned from heaven for conspiring with Satan.
Ridley Scott couldn't quite explain how the earth was repopulated with a small band of people, one of whom ultimately abandons the family (Ham) and Noah's daughter in law gives birth to twin girls. He leaves us hanging out on the same ragged, sparsely vegetated mountain where the ark ultimately settled. Perhaps this was intentionally done to make way for another Biblically based epic.
While I didn't care for the bleak natural environment and a la carte Biblical influence, I did feel inspired by Noah because of his difficult task and the way he went about accomplishing it. I like that layers of convincing emotion and motivation were added to Noah, making him more of a man, which he was, instead of just a legend. The CGI used to illustrate the growth of the "eden forest" and the animals who came to the ark was not overdone at all. It's a good adventure story about a father trying to keep his family safe and do what's best for them, despite their disobedience. Don't expect this movie to answer deep spiritual questions but do expect it to take you on a journey back to the time before the flood.
