Director Darren Aronofsky’s long-awaited Black Swan follow-up Noah had its world premiere last night in Mexico, which means the first reactions to the finished film are in. Unsurprisingly, most pointed out that a lot of the film has been hid from the marketing—namely the more fantastical elements. The overall reaction was mainly positive, but many pointed out that it is destined to be a quite polarizing film. That’s not exactly a shock given that most of Aronofsky’s films elicit strong reactions, and with regards to Noah, the film appears to have a heavy philosophical bent while visually resembling a fantasy pic.
In addition to the first responses, Paramount has also released a new trailer for the film. After the jump, watch the trailer and peruse through some of the reactions from last night’s premiere screening. Noah opens in theaters on March 28th.
A full rundown of the Noah premiere at THR describes the crowd reaction as “muted”, with a number of critics that the author spoke to saying the film was “slow”, “tiring”, and “a bit long”. That’s just a small subsection, though, as the Twitter reactions from American critics and online journalists were more positive:
NOAH: imagine the serious philosophical and faith explorations of LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST with a LORD OF THE RINGS sheen.
— Mystery Devin Faraci (@devincf) March 11, 2014
THE FOUNTAIN really is the template for NOAH, at least when it comes to bombast mixed w/ deeper concerns. If you hated THE FOUNTAIN...
— Mystery Devin Faraci (@devincf) March 11, 2014
I think NOAH is going to be one I end up defending a bunch. It's odd and it's flawed but it's ambitious and thoughtful in ways I loved.
— Mystery Devin Faraci (@devincf) March 11, 2014
What I wonder is how audiences will take the way Noah himself gets dark. The film doesn't shy from the fact he leaves LOTS of people to die.
— Mystery Devin Faraci (@devincf) March 11, 2014
.@DarrenAronofsky's Noah is a much different film than whats being advertised. Biblical epic meets fantasy, with a philosophical core.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) March 11, 2014
Noah has a pro-science pro-faith tone, but for the most part, I don't know why religious viewers would have issues with the adaptation.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) March 11, 2014
Noah is a divisive film (not from a religious perspective), akin to The Fountain, will have its fans & haters. Im in the former for both.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) March 11, 2014
Noah - Aronofsky's take on biblical story is solid, with some amazing scenes + a focus on character above all. Loved most but not all of it.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) March 11, 2014
.@iamclintmansell's score for Noah may be my favorite Mansell score (will need album to confirm). It's next iteration of The Fountain score.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) March 11, 2014
My favorite part of #Noah is The Watchers, these badass rock monsters - which they've barely shown at all even though they're a huge part.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) March 11, 2014
#Noah is a complicated film, but strong overall. The studio seems lost, but they at least have a good product to figure out how to sell.
— Nathan Adams (@TempleOfReviews) March 11, 2014
Really only the first half of #Noah has been advertised, minus some heavy fantasy elements. The second half is character-based thriller.
— Nathan Adams (@TempleOfReviews) March 11, 2014
Opinions will differ, but nobody needs worry Aronofsky has stepped out of his wheelhouse to do studio fare. #Noah
— Nathan Adams (@TempleOfReviews) March 11, 2014
Despite being a bit uneven and too long, Darren Aronofsky's Noah is still a powerful experience with some stunning scenes #Noah #NoahMovie— We Got This Covered (@wgtc_site) March 11, 2014
