Directed by Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”), “Noah” is a movie I can’t believe ever got made. It takes inspiration from famous the biblical story yet it also adds lots of other bits and pieces. I guess maybe stories change, from Hercules to Superman, things just never stay the same.

In this film, Noah (Russell Crowe “Gladiator”, “L.A. Confidential”) and his family are on a mission to build an ark to house themselves and all the animals for when a large flood comes. That’s all well and fine but the movie also features lots of extra strands of plot such as parts with giant rock monster beating the hell out of people to ensure they don’t get on the ark. However, the next scene then has one of the most in-depth dives into religious that I’ve ever heard so yeah… it’s strange.

Lots of the complaints about this film have been directed at the character of Noah. Here, he seems mean and is intent of making sure his family are the last humans ever to exist and needs to be turned around by his family. Crowe is truly amazing. I think this extra dimension is actually interesting. Jennifer Connelly (“Hulk”), Ray Winstone (“Beowulf”) and Emma Watson (“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”) all appear but are forgettable. Anthony Hopkins (“Silence of the Lambs”) is good as always.

“Noah” is definitely weird but I’m not against new interpretations of stories. The original story from “The Bible” is incredible because it teaches great morals and as long as the morals are kept then a new version of the story can be good. It doesn’t dumb things down by making a disaster movie set in the present because this is still very much a biblical epic. It has a few moments that seem to distract a little from the main story, the inclusion of rock monsters makes the film enjoyable and some of the dialog makes it thought-provoking. It’s flawed yet still worth seeing as there aren’t that many modern biblical films to compete with.