Controversial Russell Crowe movie splits Netflix fans

One of Russell Crowe’s most controversial movies has climbed the Netflix chart – but it’s left fans split, echoing its initial divisive reception in the 2010s.

When you mix religion and movies, someone is likely to be offended. Just look at Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, which led to the director being sent death threats and a Paris cinema being set alight as it was screening the film.

There’s also Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, a direct adaptation of Jesus’ agonizing final hours in the Gospels, which was accused of blasphemy, anti-Semitism, and excessive violence. And then there’s The Chosen, a TV series that’s been criticized for some glaring omissions.

In 2014, Crowe starred in a movie inspired by one of the Bible’s most iconic stories – and it’s leaped near the top of Netflix’s chart.

Russell Crowe’s Noah climbs Netflix chart

Noah, starring Russell Crowe as the titular biblical hero, is number three on Netflix’s top 10 movies in the US. Check out the full chart below:

1. Damsel
2. Alone
3. Noah
4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
5. Turbo
6. Your Lucky Day
7. Unthinkable
8. Fear
9. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
10. The Boss Baby

The film, directed by The Whale’s Darren Aronofsky, follows Noah as he’s given an impossible task from above: building an ark so large that it can hold breeding pairs of every animal on the planet before the “Creator” causes an enormous, apocalyptic flood.

While inspired by the Book of Genesis, the movie also borrows ideas from the Book of Enoch, a non-biblical Hebrew text – which, expectedly, sparked controversy. “When you really look at the story in the Bible, there’s very, very little information. It’s four chapters long. No one speaks until the end. And the Noah character doesn’t really have an arc – with a ‘c.’ But the more you read it, the more interesting clues there are. There are many, many hints at things,” the director told the Los Angeles Times.

Reacting to the film, one user tweeted: “What the actual craziness!!! Watching Noah on Netflix and I’m confused. The creatures and modernization is not what I wanna see.”

“Ew I decided to watch this Noah movie on Netflix and I do NOT fw how they didn’t do Noah’s story correctly,” another wrote.

However, another user posted: “I’ve been thinking about Noah a lot today. It’s a movie that makes me think, feel and ponder our existence and wonder why God is so cryptic and indirect. I’m glad to see the movie is still making it after all these years.”

“If you haven’t watched the new Noah movie on Netflix – I highly recommend. It aligns with the biblical teachings as well as the book of Enoch – especially in regard to the level of evil the earth had succumbed to as a result of the fallen angels/watchers/giants,” a fourth wrote.

Noah is streaming on Netflix now. You can also find out what other new movies are coming out in March, and what TV shows you should be watching this month.