---
title: "Noah: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/noah/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/noah"
critics_score: 60
critics_reviews: 27
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Noah (2014): what the critics said

Critics' score 60 from 27 reviews: 13 positive, 8 mixed, 6 negative.

## Empire — Dan Jolin

Rating 4/5. 23 April 2012. 

Jolin calls the film an inventive, ambitious mythological epic, while noting that its harshness and revisions to the biblical story may infuriate as much as inspire. He especially praises Aronofsky’s striking creation sequence, which compresses billions of years of evolution into minutes.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/noah-review/)

## Total Film — Curtis Woloschuk

Rating 4/5. 31 March 2014. 

The critic calls the film an audacious, uncompromising epic and praises its ambitious execution. They single out the flood sequence for its impressive orchestration and the emotional force of Crowe’s performance.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/noah-review/)

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 March 2014. 

Turan finds the film grandiose and often overwrought, but says its cinematic energy makes it riveting. He praises Aronofsky’s bold, highly personal retelling of the biblical story and its willingness to blend the expected with the unexpected.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2014-mar-27-la-et-mn-noah-review-20140328-story.html)

## Sight and Sound — Jonathan Romney

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2014. 

Romney finds the film flawed but substantial, praising its audacious, visionary ambition. He particularly admires Russell Crowe’s grounded portrayal, which gives the film’s strangeness a human center.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-noah)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2014. 

McCarthy finds the film arresting and audacious, though its environmental messaging can be heavy-handed and parts of its ending feel off-kilter. He especially praises Russell Crowe’s grounded performance and the film’s technical achievements.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/noah-film-review-689450/)

## The New Yorker — David Denby

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2014. 

Denby finds Noah wildly excessive and uneven, but ultimately a daring work of art. He especially praises its apocalyptic imagery and Icelandic landscapes, which make the end of the world visually magnificent.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/man-overboard)

## Variety — Scott Foundas

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 2014. 

Foundas calls the film uneven but undeniably bold, finding it fascinating despite its competing ambitions. He praises its visually dazzling spectacle, especially the Watchers and the flood sequence.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-noah-1201130643/)

## Vulture — David Edelstein

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 2014. 

Edelstein finds the film compromised by conventional studio spectacle, but ultimately likes it for grounding biblical apocalypse in contemporary concerns while retaining religious awe. He praises its vivid dreams and visions as the moments that best convey Aronofsky’s personal vision.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/movie-review-noah.html)

## Screen Daily — Tim Grierson

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 2014. 

The page identifies this as a review, but the critic’s verdict is inaccessible. No praise or complaint can be verified from the visible text.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/noah/5069792.article)

## Radio Times — Terry Staunton

Rating 3/5. 

Staunton finds the film a bold but uneven biblical epic. He praises the grandeur of its effects, while noting stretches of existential navel-gazing.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-2r7hq5/noah/)

## The Guardian — Mark Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2014. 

Kermode finds the film preposterous and exasperating, yet ultimately endearing in its unhinged ambition. He singles out Jennifer Connelly for grounding the spectacle in credible human emotion.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/06/noah-review-preposterous-epic-russell-crowe)

## The New York Times — A. O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 27 March 2014. 

Scott finds the film an unwieldy but ambitious biblical epic. He singles out Aronofsky’s visual imagination while noting that the film’s ideas do not always cohere.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/movies/russell-crowe-confronts-lifes-nasty-weather-in-noah.html)

## IndieWire — Eric Kohn

Rating C. 21 March 2014. 

Kohn calls the film an epic misfire, despite its fascinating unease and ambition. He praises its striking visual sequences, while faulting the muddled plot and shallow treatment of its ideas.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-darren-aronofskys-noah-is-a-biblical-mess-but-thats-what-makes-it-worth-talking-about-28764/)

## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson

Rating 2/4. 27 March 2014. 

Henderson finds the film’s ambitious scriptural interpretation compelling at first, but says it ultimately retreats into conventionality. He praises its vivid, sacred-and-profane imagery, especially the creation montage.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/noah/)

## Little White Lies — Paul Fairclough

Rating 1/2/2. 3 April 2014. 

Fairclough finds the film dour, emotionally barren and ultimately boring, despite its spectacular moments. He praises the flood sequence’s depiction of people facing death, but says it cannot rescue the film’s missed opportunity.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/noah)

## Time Out — Keith Uhlich

Rating 2/5. 28 March 2014. 

The review gives the film a low rating. Its description singles out Russell Crowe’s overly serious performance.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/noah)

## Evening Standard — David Sexton

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 23 October 2014. 

Sexton finds the film an unconvincing action epic, despite Aronofsky’s effort to make it accessible to believers and non-believers alike. He singles out Russell Crowe’s commanding presence for praise, saying it holds the film together and makes Noah’s moral dilemma feel genuine.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/noah-film-review-darren-aronofsky-takes-liberties-but-at-least-theres-a-lot-of-russell-crowe-being-manly-9237503.html)

## The Independent — Laurence Phelan

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2014. 

Phelan finds the film underwhelming and frequently silly, with an implausible, low-stakes world. He praises Russell Crowe’s brooding performance and the domestic conflict that emerges later.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/noah-film-review-darren-aronofsky-s-biblical-blockbuster-won-t-turn-the-tide-9236020.html)

## The Skinny — jamie@theskinny.co.uk

Rating ★★★★. 4 April 2014. 

The review finds the adaptation fascinating, praising its religious ambiguity and ecological commentary. It also singles out Aronofsky’s stylised visuals and provocative treatment of faith and humanity.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/noah)

## /Film — Peter Sciretta

Rating 8 out of 10. 25 March 2014. 

Sciretta finds the film a powerful, imaginative, and ambitious reimagining, while noting its challenging structure may not work for everyone. He especially praises the visually told Genesis sequence for blending biblical text with scientific ideas.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/530976/noah-review/)

## Digital Spy — Ben Rawson-Jones

Rating 4. 31 March 2014. 

The review finds Noah psychologically gripping and visually stunning despite some structural and cohesion problems. It especially praises the emotionally powerful family drama between Crowe and Connelly.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a561111/noah-review-is-russell-crowes-biblical-epic-movie-gold/)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating B-. 27 March 2014. 

Goldberg finds Noah a flawed but intriguing work whose moral complexity is often buried under awkward explanations and uneven storytelling. He praises Matthew Libatique’s cinematography and Clint Mansell’s score, along with the film’s environmental and ethical ideas.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/noah-review/)

## Den of Geek — Don Kaye

Rating 3.5/5. 27 March 2014. 

Kaye finds the film unique, entertaining, and at times profoundly moving, despite flaws in its execution. He singles out Russell Crowe’s complex performance and praises the striking visual and musical design.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/noah-review/)

## The Playlist

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 27 March 2014. 

The page is blocked by anti-crawler protection, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. The text provides no details about what the review praises or criticizes.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-darren-aronofskys-noah-starring-russell-crowe-emma-watson-jennifer-connelly-more-20140327/)

## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape

Rating 3/5. 1 April 2014. 

Pape finds the film overelaborate and convoluted, despite admiring its ambition and scope. He praises the striking storybook-like interludes, while faulting Russell Crowe’s emotionally detached performance.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/noah-review/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 2014. 

The critic finds the film overblown, underwritten, and a soggy slog caught between a conventional biblical epic and Aronofsky’s stranger style. They praise the flood as impressive, but fault the characters for being too thinly drawn to give the actors room to develop them.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/noah-review-darren-aronofskys-biblical-waterworld-mostly-runs-aground/)

## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2014. 

The critic finds the film painfully bland and heavy-handed. She singles out the end-credits song as its most intriguing element.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/noah-2014-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/noah.md