Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2014

I don’t remember this simple Sunday school parable including huge rock-monsters with red eyes, nor does the plot device of a vengeful, animal-cargo-munching warlord stowaway aboard Noah’s Ark ring a bell. Then there are the LOTR-like, SFX-laden epic battles. Huh? But it’s just the movies, right? Now, defending the Bible has never been an aspiration, but as a movie, this is overlong, slow moving, and lacks any real sense of danger. Noah, a raving patriarch created in the image of a seriously silly Russell Crowe, would be locked up today. A rare misstep for otherwise admired director Darren Aronofsky. Japanese title: Noah Yakusoku no Fune (138 min)