Russel Crowe plays a deeply faithful servant of The Creator, who is an extreme vegetarian. We watch him as he struggles with the mission given him and how it hurts him to watch mankind be destroyed, but he feels that there is no other way. Crowe was very possibly the best actor to play this part.
Both Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson give the main speeches which cause Noah any real thought during the movie. Only them seem able to make him think beyond what he has decided is the will of The Creator. They are the ones who keep mercy and love in the world.
An unexpected bit in the movie was The Watchers. They are fallen angels who, after the fall of Adam and Eve, came to aid man kind, but were punished by The Creator. Their punishment was being encased in stone bodies and having to watch their aid be turned for evil in the hands of wicked men. When Noah comes on the scene, they find their way to redemption. The Watchers seem to be an awkward mix of Ents from Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings and Michael Bay's Transformers. They are also very reminiscent of the Jewish myth of the golems, which if purposeful would be a really nice touch by Aronofsky.
You've likely heard the bashing of it based on it's lack of saying "God" any time in the movie. However, this is something I actually find positive and interesting. Throughout the movie they say "The Creator" which is what God was to Noah and those of his time. It's worth noting that in the Bible God didn't even call himself God until talking with Abram, in Genesis 17, before the name to change to Abraham. Now the Bible does use the word God before then, however it was written by Moses, who came just a bit after Noah.
The makers of this movie definitely went out of their way to keep from pissing off Christians/creationists while appeasing atheists/evolutionists. This movie is very clear that some being created everything. Man is noted to have been created in the image of The Creator, this right after we watched a series of CGI that seems to show a fish evolving into a primate. Per the movie, The Creator's spoken word is also what triggered the big bang and all of the universe.
Like many things in the world, this movie is neither fully good nor fully bad. It is a mixed bag that you can't simply just react to, but must contemplate and examine before deciding for yourself. Perhaps this movie is so easy a target as it's a story everyone knows. No matter what kind of faith background you come from, you know the story of Noah and the ark. Because the story is so well known, the movie has suspense, as you keep waiting for certain events, such as the finding of wives for all three sons, to take place.
I enjoyed how deep Noah's character was, filled with conflict over what he feels must be done. It definitely made me think of things I hadn't before. If you plan to see this movie, do so with an open mind. Don't expect the pure Bible. Look past the vegetarian preaching. Take truth where it can be found and enjoy the mix of myth into the story. Basically, just remember that this is a modern day Hollywood version of Noah's story.
