MOVIE TITLE: Evan Almighty

RATING:1/2

RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes

BONUS FEATURES: Deleted scenes, a flood of visual effects, becoming Noah, animals on set and other features.

WHO'S IN IT: Steve Carell (40 Year Old Virgin), Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Bruce Almighty).

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: In this hilarious take on the story of Noah and the Ark (a follow-up to Bruce Almighty) Carell, who plays Evan Baxter, has just won a seat in Congress on a mandate of changing the world. He quits his job as a news anchorman and moves to Washington D.C. with his wife and three sons (remember Noah also had three sons). His first morning on the job spills some surprises, which go unnoticed by him. At first he wakes up at 6:14 a.m. instead of 7:00 a.m. and when he is leaving gets a tool box of antediluvian tools. The next morning he gets a delivery of wood from 'Go-For wood' (a play on words representing the tree gopher wood) after getting up at 6:14 a.m. again. He also gets a visit this time from God (Morgan Freeman), who tells him to build an ark. Evan, helped by a series of events, manages to also figure out the 6:14 riddle which is a reference to Genesis 6:14, which speaks about God commanding Noah to build an ark he tries his best to get away from the 'almighty', God keeps visiting him and at one point birds follow him to work as he is about to meet with a group of congressmen. Things get worse for him as other animals also follow him to work and he grows a beard and sheds his suit for sack cloth. His wife also leaves him she later returns. In all of this, like Noah, he is also ridiculed, especially when he predicts that a flood will happen on September 22. In the end a flood does happen but you'll have to watch the movie to see if only eight people were saved.

LONG STORY SHORT: For Christian purists, Evan Almighty may come across as sacrilegious. For the irreligious it may be a ludicrous attempt at modernising a biblical tale. But for moviegoers who fall in between, Evan Almighty is a comical as it gets. True, it's a very farcical movie which does not really have a riveting storyline (but hey comedies can get away with that, can't they?). However, the comical mishaps that Evan finds himself in are enough to allow one to forget all that. The downfall of the movie, however, is in the special effects, as during the flood, under realistic conditions, the ark would not have survived. But, then, it's a comedy, so that weakness can be forgiven.

THE REEL LOWDOWN: If you liked Bruce Almighty and Oh God, you'll like this.

Comedy

Ratings:

★ Save your money