‘Noah’ Trailers Promise Biblical(?) Epic
Two impressive trailers have released for the upcoming film Noah.
The cast features Inspector Javier / Jor-El 2.0, King Odin, The Babe With the Power of Voodoo, and … yes, Hermione.
But will this 2014 major motion-picture adaptation also feature Biblical proportions or something less?
As of last October, film critic Brian Godawa, himself an antedeluvian myth-meister, doubted the filmmakers even cared to respect Scripture. He describes an early version of the script that paints Noah as an ancient warrior (extra- but not anti-Biblical), surrounded by evil (Biblical) who gains the ark’s building materials through a supernaturally planted forest (speculative, not anti-Biblical). But then comes the flagrantly anti-Biblical parts:
One of the women on the ark is pregnant, and Noah decides that if it is a boy, it can live, but if it is a girl, he must kill it. We can’t have more of those nasty little virus-like humans swarming the earth. So most of the last half of the script is a family killer thriller like Sleeping With the Enemy, that asks the dark dramatic movie question “will Noah kill the child if it is a girl or not?” Ancient sex-selection infanticide.
The woman gives birth to twin girls, and Noah gets all the way up to killing not one but two female infants, after killing evil meat-eating Akkad. But in the end, he fails. He says “to himself, to the Creator,” “I can’t. I can’t do it. I am sorry. I am so sorry.” He is just too compassionate to carry out God’s cruel plan. Noah is more loving than God.1
The trailer seems to show Noah doing something magical. It shows no hint of Noah being more spiritual than God. At least not yet.
What do you think?
I caught up to Godawa himself to ask his brief reaction. His response:
My hope is that the studios did listen to the offense taken by those to whom Noah is a sacred story. The Noah trailer has been cut to appeal to that audience, but trailers are notoriously devious in their marketing manipulation tactics. In short, the Noah trailer looks way cool and Biblical. But then again, so did the trailer for the Last Temptation of Christ”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJKxg4p-Alk
- Darren Aronofsky’s Noah: Environmentalist Wacko, Oct. 29, 2012, Godawa’s Movie Blog. ↩
For your consideration: We cannot call this a Biblical story when the writers admit to using the Book of Enoch for source material along with the Sumerian Gilgamesh flood epic. While there may be a few Biblical elements, ultimately this story as it will appear on screen is fiction. While this might be a well executed movie, we have to be discerning and keep in mind that the reason for the flood, the reaction to the flood, and the results of the flood depicted therein do not match Scripture. When we remember that the fall happened as a result of Adam and Eve listening to the tempting words of Satan we must never forget that those words were crafted to throw doubt on the Word of God. “Did God really say?” Therefore, a Biblical movie that misrepresents the foundations of the Biblical account really is nothing more than an attempt to make God say something that He didn’t. It is the worst form of deception. It is adding to and taking away from the Word of God, which is never to be taken lightly.
I saw the trailer and just went…………..huhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…not even close. Not even close
Well, for a 2-hour movie, they’d have to get something somewhere other than Genesis, and the Book of Enoch and the Sumerian flood epics aren’t entirely out of left field.
In any case, I don’t anticipate being impressed by this movie.
Brian Godawa’s book Noah Primevil was a blast to read but I found it to be unbiblical in so many ways, however it was never offensive towards the God we know and love. Maybe, just maybe, Hollywood has come up with something simular in that God is still God but the truth of Noah has been mistreated. I’m not happy if they do this but I won’t be as offended as I could have been (or will be)..
“Run Before the Rain-An Antediluvian Adventure” is a speculative techno-adventure for YA and adults but sticks to the biblical timeline and message. Themes of faith, loyalty, selflessness honor God’s righteousness in judging mankind by a global flood.
You know, once upon a time (specifically, 2005) I thought up a great idea for a potential story that someone/I could write: a fantasy novel or series set before the flood that would have dinosaurs and warriors and all kinds of awesome fantasy stuff, plus a Flood doomsday …
Stephen – My comment on “Noah” above yours mentioned my book “Run Before the Rain” which I came up with after conversations with Dr. John Whitcomb. He has a lot to say about the antediluvian civilization, construction of the ark, collapse of the vapor canopy in “The Genesis Flood.” My book has a flying dinosaur and speculates about advanced technology in a world with millions of inhabitants. More at http://www.michaelvetter.net
There has already been a trilogy of novels on this subject. The Cradleland Chronicles, by Douglas Hirt, featuring dinosaurs and warriors and all kinds of awesome fantasy AND sci-fi stuff…