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I saw Noah a week ago at my local theater, and am just now able to write a level headed review about it. See, Noah is that type of movie that you either absolutely love, or downright hate. Its the kind of movie that makes people fiercely defensive of their opinions, that sparks widespread controversy. This is rare, as movies nowadays seem to be pretty tailored to their target audience. Most of the controversy is centered around whether or not the film is biblical. As a Christian who has read the bible, I feel the need to point out that the bible is very vague concerning the story of Noah. God has the only speaking part, and the feelings and experiences of Noah and his family are not shared with us. If the film ONLY included the text as it was written, it would be about half an hour, and very impersonal. Darren Aronofsky adds additional material because if he didn't, there wouldn't be a film. There wouldn't even be any characters, other then names. Now, a lot of the controversy concerns what he added, mainly the bit about the fallen angels. People seem very confused about this, shortsightedly likening them to "Rock Transformers". The Nephilim, as they are called, are mentioned in the Bible, as well as in the Book of Enoch (Enoch was the great grandfather of Noah), which is a Jewish telling of the flood that is separate from the one in the Bible. They are also referred to in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is an ancient historical and mythological text containing the story of the flood, also separate from the bible. If one considers for a moment that Darren Aronofksy came from a Jewish background, its easy to see where he would have gotten some of his content. Other characters from the Bible are featured, such as Tubal Cain (the leader of the 'wicked' humans in the film), as well as Methuselah, even though they aren't mentioned in the biblical story of the flood. If one considers that all of these people lived at the same time however, its not much of a stretch. You can have whatever opinion about the film that you want, I just thought it might be interesting for those of you who are confused as to what the Nephilim are, or who the "Yoda character" is. Now, considering the vagueness of the bible on the event of the flood, it is only reasonable that Darren Aronofsky would have to fill in some blanks, and he does take creative license with it. Of course a lot of it isn't in the bible, but it does not contradict or disrespect what is already there. I think it should be celebrated that the bible is so narratively complex, its mysteries so compelling, that a self professed Atheist would be moved to try and tell one of its stories. There is a lot of material in that book for compelling films, whether you believe it to be fact or fantasy. Of course, a lot of people will disagree with me, both on my opinions of the film and its source material. That is fine, I am just tired of reading negative and uneducated articles and reviews by people who refer to the Nephilim as "rock transformers", even by people who have admitted to not even seeing the film! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and some people will not like the liberties taken by the director. Its understandable. But as far as I am concerned, Noah is a beautiful, grim, powerfully compelling epic about the human capacity for wickedness and immorality, as well as love and mercy. The cinematography, art design, special effects, and music are uniformly brilliant. Russell Crowe brings a humanity and chilling focus to the character of Noah in one of his best performances, with Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, and Logan Lerman all turning in powerfully brazen work as well. The film is tense, brutal, spectacular, smart, emotionally involving and thought provoking. Love if or hate it, you cannot deny the importance and power of anything that has inspired so much debate and controversy. As entertainment, I loved it, as a story with compelling characters and themes, I loved it. If you enjoyed Braveheart or Lord of the Rings, and are willing to see Noah as a work of film rather than an advertisement for the Christian church, I think you will enjoy it too. And if you don't, that's okay. But at least see it and decide for yourself.