NOAH:  An Okay Epic

A lot of people in the press will pretend to like this movie either because they like the "green" message (secularists) or they are just relieved that Hollywood will take the Bible seriously (Christians suffering from cultural war battle fatigue). 

Some of the public discussion of the Russell Crowe movie "Noah" has focused on its departure from the Genesis narrative.  The film's writers had to introduce dramatic tension and character development, and I didn't think the liberties taken were excessive.  I thought the movie was imaginative and in some parts beautiful.  Naturally it had a vegan message: save animals, don't eat them. I didn't mind that Noah didn't entirely understand his tasking, but he thought that all mankind, including his family, had to perish.  He came off like a early version of the Rev. Jim Jones. 

The overall message is a little skewed. A bad local king, who improbably chops his way into the gigantic ark, delivers the message that the "creator" gave man dominion over animals.  The movie omits that God told Noah that all animals now are our food.

I recall the older movie "The Bible" with John Huston as Noah.   He gave the role a bit of a comic twist.  That would have been welcome, as this movie labored.  Noah has always been a vaguely endearing figure--he gets drunk on wine--but this guy was a bit of a jerk.