I think we can all agree that director Darren Aronofsky has a sweet spot: smaller, character-driven dramas. If he could just hang out there, we would be golden, but for the second time, he’s tried to go big while also staying philosophical. The results have been The Fountain, a confusing dumpster fire, and Noah, a cold and setpiece-focused action film that falls flat on every level. Moments of Noah feel like a Ridley Scott-directed period epic, while others are very reminiscent of Aronofsky’s early work, but the two never gel together properly and ultimately leave both threads unsatisfied. I don’t think that Aronofsky understands that we like his movies to be the depressing morality tales we deserve and that some genres just don’t facilitate his greatest strength.