Noah, Cinemas across London

We all know the story: water, animals and a big boat. But Darren Aronofsky's epic-to-end-all-epics promises a more action-packed, bloodthirsty depiction of a man usually associated with doves and olive branches. In other words, the man who saved the world from the Great Flood is being played by Russell Crowe. We're excited about this one.

The Bible doesn’t seem like natural subject matter for Aronofsky. His films are drug-fuelled, sexual and often extremely violent. But they also have a clear “good vs. evil”, “dark vs. light” dynamic, almost fairytale-like in its simplicity.

Where he is groundbreaking is in the visual direction of each project – always bold and always at the service of the film's central idea. The Wrestler took us inside the ring with raw, focused energy. Black Swan set up beautifully harmonised images, distorted then shattered them, and Requiem for a Dream laser-beamed the downward spiral of addiction into our minds with machine-gun editing. With Noah, Aronofsky promises the prototype disaster movie. We can expect ingenious camera trickery and astonishing special effects to thrill rather than impress, to move rather than appreciate.  

Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and Jennifer Connelly provide support, along with hot young talent in the form of Emma Watson and Douglas Booth. But we suspect that, like Gladiator, this is every inch Russell's movie.  The tension between sensitivity and imposing physicality, so effective in films like A Beautiful Mind and L.A. Confidential, have us in Russell's corner as the perfect action hero-prophet. 

Noah is released in the UK on March 28.