The Good:
We get Genesis 1-4
The creation account and the fall of man is shown in detail. Day 1, 2, 3... etc There is some evolution mixed in but only within the animal kingdom. Man was created separately and in God's image and given dominion over the earth. Noah's family interpret this as stewardship and Cain's descendants interpret this as excuse to ravage the land. Which leads me to my next point...
It doesn't pull punches
Sin is sin. And it's ugly. Very ugly. Reports that hurting the environment is the only sin mentioned are bogus. We see violence, murder, trafficking, implied cannibalism... We see a town reduced to carnage and the lone survivor is a little girl left to die after being stabbed and possibly raped. Noah's family adopt this now barren girl into their family, introducing the theme of redemption that is ultimately brought to crescendo when she is miraculously healed.
When the flood waters come we are shown brutally honest look at what that day might have been like. We see Noah's family sitting in the ark having to listen as World War Z reminiscent hoards of people try to find a way into the ark.
The Themes ring true.
The themes of the movie are Biblical. One theme is that God always provides what we need. Another theme is interpreting the will of God when He doesn't give explicit instructions (this is ironic since in the original story God DOES give Noah explicit instructions). At one point in the film, Noah becomes so preoccupied with his own ideas of what God's will should be that he almost completely tears his family apart. Noah is portrayed as a righteous man, especially in the first 2 acts. But he makes mistakes upon the way and during the third act he completely looses control. His entire family is telling him that he is not following God's plan but he is consumed by pride and a false sense of importance. In the end his daughter-in-law talks with him and helps him realize where he was wrong and that God's heart is for second chances.
The Weird:
Rock giants? Methuselah being like some kinda wizard? Them carrying around a snake skin? Weird. Not Biblical. Not Unbiblical. Just Weird. I guess even the rocks cry out...
The Bad:
God is impersonal and distant. He never speaks directly to Noah or gives clear instruction. A tragic misrepresentation of God's character and desire for relationship that even some Christians hold to. From Plugged in online:
Unlike the direct commands issued by God to Noah in Genesis, His will is obscured in Noah. The titular character receives only visions, their meaning never fully clear to him. And because Noah and his family deeply desire to do God's will exactly, this exacerbating lack of communication creates some serious conflicts—an echo of sometimes our own uncertainty of what God would have us do now.
Although the themes that come into play because of this change are portrayed biblically, they do not belong in the story of Noah. If they wanted to tackle these very real issues, they should have made a movie about Job.
There were some claims that the movie is all about environmentalism. There is a touch of it in the movie. From plugged in online
Noah and his family are seriously committed vegetarians. But the movie's environmentalism isn't merely a call to stave off global warming by recycling: It's used as a deeper metaphor, a way to further distinguish the mindset of Seth (which responsibly fosters God's creation) with the mode of Cain (which is to pillage and destroy).
Verdict:
I can't say it better than this post I found on plugged in online.
"Harry Potter fans expect Harry Potter movies to stay mostly true to the book. History buffs are known to require historical dramas to follow actual history. I think it's reasonable, then, for Christians to ask that the stories most precious to them be treated with faithfulness—and that movies based on them would, y'know, stay at least in the ballpark. But Mr. Aronofsky has chosen a different tack, and so the ancient truth about Noah becomes more of a pretext for Middle-earth rock monsters and a tormented, half-mad Noah ready to kill his own kin.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, believes there is redemption to be found. "Darren Aronofsky is not a theologian, nor does he claim to be," Daly says. "He is a filmmaker and a storyteller, and in Noah, he has told a compelling story. The film expresses biblical themes of good and evil; sin and redemption; justice and mercy. It is a creative interpretation of the scriptural account that allows us to imagine the deep struggles Noah may have wrestled with as he answered God's call on his life. This cinematic vision of Noah's story gives Christians a great opportunity to engage our culture with the biblical Noah, and to have conversations with friends and family about matters of eternal significance."
What kind of conversation might that be? Well, possibly one exploring just who God really is. We see glimpses of His character in Noah: His beautiful design, His sorrow that humanity ran away from Him, His righteous anger...
And sometimes it's even in the things the film changes that spiritual lessons emerge. One example: As Noah drifts into the idea that he's been tasked with ending all human life on earth, he comes to believe that the Creator is calling on him to kill his own granddaughters. He's desperately determined to follow through … until it comes time to actually complete the terrible charge.
"I looked down at those two little girls," he confesses, "and all I had in my heart was love."
It's poignant that Noah, the last righteous man, felt such love in that moment. Because that's what God feels when He looks down on us. We are sinners. We constantly fail Him. We deserve death, He tells us. But in His eyes, we're also beautiful. And God's love for us—His mercy and grace—ends up saving us."
