It has been one week since the film Noah hit theaters. The film grossed well over 43 million dollars in its opening week all while riding a giant wave of controversy. Unless you’ve been living alone on a lush green mountain in a cave without berries, you have been well aware of the debate surrounding director Darren Aronofsky’s dark, brooding biblical epic. Or Athiest director Darren Aronofsky’s anti-biblical, ecocentric, fairy tale. Or Hollywood’s latest attack on Christianity. Or the movie that Christians should embrace in order to start a dialogue with our culture. Or whatever that last blog post you read called it.

The truth is Noah is all these things and none of them at the same time. More digital ink has been spilt and more unrealistic expectations have been placed on this piece of celluloid than any other movie in recent history. The culture seems divided into a thousand different camps all defending their personal stake in their beliefs, feelings, and emotions surrounding this 2 hour tale starring General Maximus Decimus Meridius and directed by the guy who turned Natalie Portman into a literal Black Swan.

The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is this:

Everyone is OUTRAGED by Noah.

That’s right. Outraged! Everyone is expressing their outrage and calling for everyone within newsfeed or timeline eyeshot that they, too, must be outraged by this film, its production, the way it was marketed, what it takes literally, what is said subliminally, what it leaves out, and what it gets wrong.

One group says that you should be outraged because the film fails to be a literal interpretation of Genesis 6-9. They argue that anything less than a word for word, direct adaptation of a film is not just a disappointment but a detriment to society as a whole.

Another group tells you to be outraged at Christians who are outraged because the film fails to be a literal interpretation of Genesis 6-9. They tell you it is absurd to not expect filmmakers to add artistic flourishes or inventive story lines in order to make a movie palatable for audiences worldwide. “Get with the times and quit getting your spiritual underwear in a bunch,” they say.

One group says, “Embrace it!” Another, “Burn it!”

Further, others claim outrage over the idea that anyone on any side would be upset over anything contained in a movie. After all, it’s only a movie.

Blog post after Facebook comment after tweet all telling you and me what to think about Noah and what to think about what others think about Noah.

The problem is I’m not outraged by Noah. I’m also not outraged by those outraged by Noah.

The movie and the whole conversation surrounding it has me feeling a bunch of emotions but outrage isn’t one of them.

The movie stirred emotions in me that ranged from confusion to inspiration, disappointment to frustration, and boredom to being nonplussed.

The reviews, conversations, and warnings have had me experiencing many of the same emotions.

Over the last week, I have had conversations in persona and online about my opinions on Noah. Some have asked me if I liked it. Some have asked if they should see it. Some want to know my thoughts on whether or not Christians should see this film. That’s why beginning next week, I am planning to post a series of thoughts on the movie and the biblical story of Noah.

I want to come at this a bit different than the other blog posts or reviews that I have seen over the last few weeks. In this series, I want to cover the following issues:

Part One: The Story of Noah. While some have addressed the fact that the film veers wildly from the biblical account and have argued that the film fails to live up to theological narrative of Noah as found in the Book of Genesis I haven’t seen anyone speak to what they believe the true theological narrative to be. In Part One of next week’s series, I want to attempt to address this theological understanding of Noah, the flood, man’s wickedness, and God’s righteousness. A film’s biblical accuracy isn’t judged on rock people but on whether or not the film connects the audience to the overarching theological narrative we find in scripture, particularly how the story of Noah connects with redemption and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Part Two: What Works. Believe it or not, there are elements of this film that work, both from a storytelling standpoint and as a biblical meditation. Many of the performances are top notch and the cinematography, at times, can be quite breath taking. Even some of the extra-biblical story elements work in order to point the viewer to a theological understanding of the nature of man, sin, and redemption.

Part Three: What Doesn’t Work. There are things that visually don’t work. There are storytelling elements that don’t work. There are additions to the biblical account that don’t work. There is a lot that doesn’t work. I want to share what I believe doesn’t work and discuss how some of the missteps and baffling choices mar the film.

Part Four: What’s Next. While all of the Noah debate will die off in an overwhelming deluge of Captain America this weekend, of which there will be no other box-office survivors, Noah will again resurface in a few months at Redbox and other studios are releasing big budget biblical adaptations later this year (Batman is Moses!). I love great stories and I love going to the movie house! I agree with Pastor Mark Batterson- Movies are the Literature of today. As believers, how are we to react or respond to movies and their attempt to produce stories based on holy scripture? What expectations should we have? What standards should we call for? I want to wrap up the series with a few suggestions on how you can engage cultural adaptations of biblical truths in ways that build bridges and are in line with the theological narrative of Scripture as a whole.

See, I don’t want you to be outraged at Aronofsky, Russell Crowe, Paramount, or the film Noah. I don’t want you to be outraged at those who are outraged. I’m not even going to argue wether or not you should even see the movie.

I am writing this series of posts because I want you to be discerning. I want you discern what God’s glorious story of redemption is all about and I want to intellectually and theologically recognize the real deal from the cheap imitation.

The Real Deal brings life and the other, at the very least, takes $12 out of your pocket.

See you next week!

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