Noah is chosen by God to undertake a momentous mission before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the world.
"In the beginning, there was nothing." So starts this version of the story centered on Noah (Russell Crowe), the man entrusted by God to save the innocent animals of Earth as the rising floodwaters cleansed the planet of mankind's evil. As the telling continues, we learn how Adam and Eve's sins have passed down through generations through their sons Cain and Abel, and how the descendants of their righteous sibling Seth were entrusted with defending creation. One day, while foraging in the country, a descendant of Seth, Noah, sees his father slain by a descendant of Cain. In the process, Noah's birthright is stolen from him. Decades later, as a father of three, Noah experiences a vision foretelling the great flood that will wash over the Earth, destroying every living thing that stands on the soil. That vision leads Noah to seek out his grandfather, Methuselah (Sir Anthony Hopkins), in order to understand his mission. When a second vision reveals that Noah is to construct a massive ark designed to shelter every living animal during the great flood, Noah, his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly), their three sons Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman), and Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll), and their adoptive sister Ila (Emma Watson) immediately begin construction on the vessel with the help of the Watchers, a race of angels created as beings of light, but encrusted in stone and mud and forsaken by God for their attempts to help man. Meanwhile, word of Noah's work soon reaches Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone), who gathers an army on a mission to overtake the ark, and survive the coming storm by any cost.
As a young boy, Noah (Dakota Goyo) witnesses his father, Lamech (Marton Csokas), killed by a young Tubal-Cain (Finn Wittrock). Many years later, an adult Noah (Russell Crowe) is living with his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly) and their sons Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman), and Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll), but after seeing a flower grow instantly from the ground and haunted by vivid dreams of a great flood, Noah takes them to visit his grandfather, Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins).
On the way, they come upon a group of people recently killed and adopt the lone survivor, a girl named Ila (Emma Watson). Noah and his family are chased by Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) and his men but seek refuge with the fallen angels known as the "Watchers", confined on Earth as stone Golems (Nephilim) for helping humans banished from the Garden of Eden. (Cain, Abel & Seth were the sons of Adam & Eve after they were banished from Eden. Cain killed Abel & fled to the East.
The watchers gave sanctuary to Cain & helped his descendants build an industrial civilization which was wicked & was devouring the world. Only Seth's descendants defended & protected the pureness of creation. Noah is the last of Seth's line. The Watchers helped Cains so that they could redeem themselves in the eyes of the creator, but Cain betrayed them as he turned to violence & in turn the creator turned the angels into stone. Cain hunted the Watchers, who were saved by Methuselah, which is why one of the watchers decided to help Noah, but the others refused as they are still wary of Cain's betrayal). Methuselah gives Noah a seed from Eden and tells Noah that he was chosen for a reason. Returning to his tent that night, Noah plants the seed into the ground.
The Watchers arrive the next morning and angrily discuss how they shouldn't help Noah until they see water spouting up from the spot that Noah planted the seed. An entire forest grows quickly, and the Watchers state that they will help Noah do the Creator's bidding. These trees are cut by the Watchers to build Noah's Ark with the help of Noah and his family.
After the arrival of birds to the Ark, Tubal-Cain arrives with his followers and confronts Noah about his purpose for building the Ark. Noah defies Tubal-Cain and remarks that there is no escape for the line of Cain. Tubal-Cain retreats and decides to build weapons to defeat the Watchers when the rain starts, and the Ark must be taken. As the Ark nears completion, animals of various species enter the Ark and are put to sleep by incense.
With Ila (who is barren & can't bear a child) having become enamored of Shem, Noah goes to a nearby settlement to find wives for Ham and Japheth, but upon witnessing cannibalism by a starving mob, he abandons his effort and begins to believe that the creator wants all of humanity dead, even Noah and his family. Thereafter, Methuselah cures Ila of sterility. Ham, searching for a wife on his own behalf, befriends the refugee Na'El (Madison Davenport).
The rain starts falling, and Tubal-Cain becomes angry that he wasn't chosen to be rescued. The followers of Tubal-Cain make a run for the Ark. In the meantime, Noah finds Ham in the forest and forces Ham to save himself and leave Na'El to die when she is caught in a metal trap set for an animal. All of Noah's family enter the Ark except Methuselah, who purposely remains behind in the forest, (after finally obtaining a berry that he had sought since Noah arrived), and is swept away by the rushing waters.
As the deluge begins, the Watchers hold off Tubal-Cain and his followers as long as possible but in the end, sacrifice themselves to protect the Ark from the mob. Upon doing so, they ascend to Heaven after leaving their mortal stone form. As the flood drowns the remaining humans, an injured Tubal-Cain climbs onto the Ark and solicits Ham secretly, playing on anger toward Noah for allowing Na'El to die. Ila becomes pregnant as the rains stop and begs the creator to let the unborn child live. However, Noah interprets the ending of rain to mean he must carry out the execution, and against his wife's dissuasion, resolves that if the child is a girl, he will kill her to satisfy the Creator's wish to destroy humanity.
Months pass, and Ila and Shem build a small raft to escape Noah's resolve, but Noah burns it after discovering it. Afterwards, Ila gives birth to twin girls. Meanwhile, Tubal-Cain convinces Ham to help kill Noah, who is then attacked by Tubal-Cain, Ham, and Shem. As they fight, the Ark hits a mountain, and Ham kills Tubal-Cain. Noah seizes Ila's twins, but he spares them upon looking at his granddaughters and only feeling love.
Upon exiting the Ark, Noah goes into isolation in a nearby cave and starts to drink wine. His sons discover him, without clothes and in a drunken stupor. Afterwards, Ham leaves his kin to live alone. Having reconciled, at the behest of Ila, Noah blesses the family as the beginning of a new human race, and all witness an immense rainbow.
