"Noah": Get Real

I just came back from seeing the new Noah movie, and I must say, it wasn't a bad movie at all... as long as you suspend most of your beliefs and knowledge about the Noah story in the Bible.  Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars for theatrics and plot, but for Biblical accuracy, I must say, it was worse than the Son of God movie and would only give it 1.5 stars out of 5 stars.  I must also give a spoiler alert, since this movie does divert from the Bible in many ways, but I will promise to be as vague, brief, and concise as possible.

First, the movie does have Noah, an ark, and a corrupt world.  Noah also has a family, albeit not the complete one that walks onto the ark (two of the sons are missing wives).  The biggest problem in this movie is that Noah appears no better or worse (in all honesty) than the corruption around him.  In fact, at several points in the film, he is more comfortable with killing than with life, a common trait of those who were wicked.  And he appears no different than the wicked king when both invoke the name of the "creator" (aka. God) without any response from God (most of the time).  Just because this has come up, I think the film uses "creator" instead of "God" to be respectful of those traditions that say it is disrespectful to call God as such and also to not show partiality in God's address (Islam, Judaism, and Chrsitianity use different titles for God).  It is also clear that the movie Noah focuses on the childhood common story, which is a combination of two (or some scholars say three) different stories.  Don't believe me?  Read the story of Noah in Genesis: chapters 6-9.  You may notice that one of the retellings has only 7 pairs of of animals: clean, unclean, and birds--21 all together (chapter 7) versus pairs of all animals (chapter 6).  Better scholars than I can tell you exactly where the two stories bridge in and out of each other, but our Biblical understanding often makes those two stories into one.

Chronologically, the movie Noah skips around from the Bible, bringing back a grandfather (Methuselah) who would be dead at the time of Noah.  Also, what I supposed to be the Nephalim, fallen angels whom the wicked people mated with, actually turns out to be the protectors (or "Watchers") of Noah; they also look a lot like the stone giants in the Lord of the Ring trilogy movie.  And for those who love the rainbow in the Noah story, you have to wait until well after the flood to spot it (I almost thought they were going to leave it out!).

The most interesting thing about the movie (in my opinion) is how futuristic it appears (almost like it could have been 100 years ago), not something I expected from a story that took place thousands of years before.  The clothing and devices used show artistic retelling of how our world might really be doomed to fail.  However, woven into the story is the same magic and folklore that is common to mythology, like stones that instantly ignite into fire.  What also captured my eye (behind the possible literalistic retelling of the creation story) is an evolutionary quality for life on this earth; however, the evolution all happened in one day, as evidenced by the rising and setting of the sun.  People who read the Bible literally usually hate the idea of evolution; some who can agree that evolution is part of God's creation usually don't like thinking of creation in six literal days, understanding the days to be more like the Lord's day--this latter point, though, can be highly argued.

This movie kept reminding me of the apocalypse: doom for all mankind.  The fact that many characters (I can't remember at this point if any of them were on the ark) thought that they could overcome the end of the world (especially referencing God's doing) always has me questioning how a person who is a creature, created by God, can usurp God's power... but sadly and rightly, the characters were all wrong.

Several sources I have read says that Focus on the Family has endorsed this movie.  I don't see a strong endorsement, though, from their website: http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/noah-2014.aspx.  What I do read is that this movie can be used to spark "conversation" with others.  Even still, I'm surprised that a group, such as Focus on the Family that prizes itself on Biblical accuracy (and inerrancy), a heterosexual partnered lifestyle (man and woman solely), a cohesive family unit with children that support the family, and no divorce rate, would even speak on this movie.  I found this movie hard to get through at times, with what appears to be a crazed Noah ready to kill his own grandchildren to appease God and a son (Ham) who walks away from the family in the end.  Domestic violence (in this case, emotional) which came out several times it very hard hitting situations should never be endorsed in a family unit.  And what about the child that walks away?  Noah never seems to want to find him; he is lost from the storyline.  As for Noah's own wife, both she and Noah separate over time due to Noah's insecurities, with somehow a "happy ending" closing out the movie, where the wife doesn't even try to address what happened on the boat; literally and unfortunately, a submissive wife.  And what about sex before marriage?  This movie alludes to it, along with the problem of pregnancy; however, in the Bible, it should be noted that all three sons are married to wives, so there is a possibility that the director/writer just decided not to show the marriage itself.  Still, if it isn't made apparent and they still look like children...  Could it be that Focus on the Family is breaking down their ever apparent disappoint for families that aren't "ideal" or "perfect" according to their standards in lieu of having conversations?  ...I may be naive, but I still won't give them that much credit!

What would I suggest this movie is good for?  After a long day, if you want to see a good Hollywood movie full of dramatic effects and wonderful suspense, go for it.  But don't use it in Bible studies or for gathering information.  Go to the source.  It's a lot better and a lot clearer.