Book of Eli Review

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 01.25.2010

Denzel Washingon kicks ass but is the rest of the movie worth your time?

Directed by The Hughes Brothers
Written by Gary Whitta
Cinematography by Don Burgess
Music Composed by Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Claudia Sarne

Cast
Denzel Washington ... Eli
Gary Oldman ... Carnegie
Mila Kunis ... Solara
Ray Stevenson ... Redridge
Jennifer Beals ... Claudia
Evan Jones ... Martz
Joe Pingue ... Hoyt
Frances de la Tour ... Martha
Michael Gambon ... George
Tom Waits ... Engineer

Runtime: 118 min.
MPAA: Rated R for some brutal violence and language.
Official Website




January is not usually a good time for movies that make you think. Usually a wasteland of trashy movies dumped in the post holiday season, horror movies that have proven fertile ground and award season movies continuing their role outs, there is not much originality in the month for the discerning film viewer. When I saw the trailers for Book of Eli, I automatically assumed it was going to be an action movie similar to last year’s Taken with Denzel Washington travelling through a post-apocalyptic world kicking everyone’s ass. When I left the theater the movie felt much more similar to the awesome Children of Men, a movie with as many ideas under the hood as wild action on display.

Denzel plays Eli, a man who survived an apocalyptic war that ended with a nuclear blast, referred to in the movie as the sky opening and the sun coming down on the earth. The only survivors are the men and women who hid underground for over a year waiting for it to be safe to reemerge and try to rebuild the world. The Bible was blamed for the war that devastated the planet and all copies were ordered to be destroyed. When the film opens we meet Eli as he hunts for his food, sleeps in abandoned houses and fights to stay alive among the scavengers polluting the roads. His only goal in life is to protect a Bible he found and he has set off towards the west, on faith, believing he will find the people he needs to give the Bible to in order to build the faith of the people and rebuild societies.

He is opposed by a man named Carnegie, who he meets in the first large town we see him enter. The town is ruled by Carnegie, the only man who appears to know how to read other than Eli. While Carnegie is at first happy to find someone cultured like himself, he soon becomes a very dangerous man to Eli when he learns Eli holds this Bible. Carnegie has been sending scavengers out on the roads to kill anyone they find with books in hopes he would one day find a Bible. His reasoning for owning a Bible differs from Eli’s in that Carnegie doesn’t care about faith. He only cares about using the Bible as a powerful weapon when directed at controlling the weak. He wants it to rule his world and will do anything to get his hands on it.

It is in the philosophical areas the movie proves most interesting. The Bible, and religion in general, is both a powerful weapon for chaos and for peace. Eli understands if he lets this tool fall into the wrong hands it will never find its purpose in this devastated world. Carnegie doesn’t care about the world and wants all the power the Book can instill on himself. The town is protected by gunmen and bears a strong similarity to the wild-west, with Eli as the outsider walking into town.

It is interesting that in a future world, where the planet is in shambles, society reverts to the old west philosophies. Gunfights in the streets, the saloon seconding as the main meeting place in the town and the lawless society ruled by the richest man in town is just as much a John Ford western as it is a crippled world. Eli can be seen as a modern day Shane with Carnegie, the evil rancher wanting to keep everything for himself. The movie then turns into a fight for survival as Eli and Carnegie’s daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) end up on the run from Carnegie and his right hand man Redridge (Ray Stevenson). Everything is set up from the beginning when Eli bonds more with a mouse then the cat preying on the dead.

The action is amazing, with Eli’s fights with the bandits on the roads brutal and beautifully choreographed. At first I felt the fight scenes were too carefully choreographed to be realistic but there is one point where everything makes sense and I realized this was the only way to shoot the fight scenes. Without spoiling too much, the end delivers a twist that left my jaw dropped to the floor. Up to that point, the movie was a lesser Children of Men, not an insult due to the magnificence of the film I compare it to. It is clearly the best Hughes Brothers film since their debut with Menace II Society but when that twist hit, it transcended decent and became something truly inspired. When a movie ends and I want to immediately watch it again, with this new knowledge in mind, the filmmakers did something right.

Book of Eli does not live and die alone with this twist and, even without it, there is a lot to enjoy. As I said, the fight scenes are magnificent. The camera work is inspired and the cinematography, with the washed out landscapes and the constantly flowing clouds, is a sight to behold. The acting is great, but that is expected when the movie is bookended by Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington. They are matched in the supporting cast with fantastic turns by both Mila Kunis and Ray Wilkinson. There is also a fun side trip with eccentric characters played by Frances de la Tour and Harry Potter’s own Michael Gambon. There is a lot about this movie to like and, while it is a little slight in the depth of the film’s world, the story itself is as deep as any you will see.

Book of Eli is the first great movie of 2010.

The 411: Book of Eli has everything you want in a January release and so much more. It is a great mix of the world of Mad Max, the action of Taken and a story comparable to Children of Men. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman lead a great cast and make the quiet scenes as explosive as the violent ones. The movie deals with religion and the Bible but is not a movie for Christians alone. The violence might actually turn away the Church crowds but the contrasting looks at what power this Book can provide, depending on the man who holds, it is fascinating. And then there is the end that makes everything before even more amazing. It is a great way to start the new cinema year and is a movie that will have you itching for more.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]