The Book of Eli

Thirty years after a man-made apocalypse, Eli (Denzel Washington) hikes westward on a quest across the vast American interior--a dark and dusty scape. He encounters a number of people who survive at the expense of others. In a small town, he is captured by a local despot named Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who makes him an offer. Being a loner, Eli prefers to go his own way, but he may not have a choice.

"The Book of Eli" is a stylish film that is reminiscent of "I Am Legend" and other post-apocalyptic stories, though it carves out a niche for itself due to its strong characters and its central theme.

The film presents some religious sub-themes, which might find differing interpretations by different viewers.

I found the ending a little disappointing, but I think others may enjoy the twists in the final scenes. Mila Kunis plays a strong character--a young woman whose life undergoes a transition under the influence of Eli.

Hughes bro's are not trying to alter people's views on religion or any thing else. They simply made a great watchable apocalyptic movie with marvelous actors and credible story. Relax and give it the credit it deserves.

I saw this when it came out in the cinema and quite liked it. Now it has come round on TV I thought it might be worth a second viewing. This film is about the quest of one man to get a book to the place it's supposed to be, to use his words. Now, I'm not a religious man but I can see the value this book might have in a world torn apart by war. It is a post-apocalyptic world, thirty years after it was destroyed. Those that were not killed scratch a living out of what's left, and many have turned to cannibalism. Many were blinded by the flashes in the sky but survived. As stated in the film, after the war people destroyed the bible blaming it for what happened, but Eli has the last remaining copy. Now you know the set-up, here's a brief summary before I give you my thoughts (summary haters please don't touch Eli… not if you want to keep your hands that is… and wait here while I write the next paragraph).

Always moving west, Eli is a loner on the road. Like everyone out there he knows it's a very dangerous place. He kills animals for food and gets clean water where he can. When set upon by hijackers but Eli is a ferocious fighter and thus far has come out on top. One day he wanders into a small town run by Carnegie, a determined man who has been sending out men in search of a particular book, the very one Eli has in his possession. Carnegie has a mother and daughter, Claudia and Solara in his entourage, Claudia was blind from birth, but Solara is sighted. In trying to persuade Eli to stay, as he can see the value of a man who can fight like him, he sends Solara to his room and she discovers the book. Carnegie finds out about the book and sends his henchman, Redridge to get it but Eli has already gone. Eli starts heading west again only to find Solara following him. Redridge wants Solara and makes a deal with Carnegie to get the book in exchange for her. And now the chase is on, will Eli and Solara escape or will they be caught? I think that's enough for now… This film was shot in a similar way to 300 (2006) with a kind of washed out comic book feel to it and, for me, it looked a bit too artificial in places. A lot of the landscapes were CGI which didn't come over too well on TV. Great performances from all of the leading cast, Denzel Washington as Eli, Gary Oldman as Carnegie, Mila Kunis as Solara, Ray Stevenson as Redridge and Jennifer Beals as Claudia. Honourable mentions also go to Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon as Martha and George, a mad old couple who Eli and Solara find on their travels.

Although it's a fairly straightforward story I found it a very entertaining and compelling film to watch, the 107 minutes went by pretty quickly, which is always a good sign. It did get a bit bogged down in the middle, but redeemed itself with a totally unexpected twist at the end. Don't worry; I'm not going give that away here. Also a haunting soundtrack backs up the visuals to great effect. Over all, although it's not been well received everywhere and although not perfect, it's a good effort… Recommended.

My score: 7.3/10

Few things are hotter this winter than Mila Kunis walking around a post-apocalyptic town in a pair of Aviators. That and a quiet Denzel Washington wielding a sword sets up The Book of Eli, yet another post-apocalyptic thriller set in the future (or lack thereof). The post-apocalypse film may be getting old after films like Children of Men, The Road, I Am Legend, etc., but The Book of Eli manages to keep itself away from the cliché apocalypse film.

Denzel portrays the title character of Eli, a mysterious man who walks around around a destroyed world carrying a book he believes can save humanity. He wanders into a makeshift town where a sadistic villain (Gary Oldman) desperately wants the book. Enter some hacked limbs, explosions, and cannibals, and you got yourself an interesting film.

This is a different role for Denzel. Usually, he's just the calm talker who tries to make sure the bad guys don't do anything crazy (think Inside Man and last summer's remake of The Taking of Pelham 123). However, not only does Denzel do a lot of talking, but he's cutting off people's arms and shooting up the place like he's Jason Statham. One memorable scene involves Eli killing Oldman's men-who are armed with sniper rifles AB machine guns-with a simple handgun.

It's also very refreshing to see Gary Oldman return to the role of a villain. Younger audiences now see Oldman as a good guy after portraying famous literary protagonists such as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and Jim Gordon in the recent Batman series. While there's nothing at all wrong with that, I was starting to miss Oldman's villain days, including classic turns as a drug addicted cop in Leon The Professional and a Russian terrorist in Air Force One. Oldman shows his versatility in Eli, where he makes his character a complete psycho.

When I first saw that Kunis was cast in this film, I was a little worried. Sure, everybody loves Mila, but could the star of comedies like That 70's Show and Forgetting Sarah Marshall make the transition in a serious film? Kunis plays her role well, but she should stick with the comedies until she's given a character with more to do.

The Book of Eli isn't perfect with its choppy action sequences or pacing issues, but its a fun film nonetheless. It's films like these that keep the post-apocalyptic genre alive and well.

The first thing that strikes you about this film is how horrid and beautiful it looks all at the same time. We are in a post-apocalyptic world of washed out colours, destroyed structures and dying people scrabbling to make sure they are not the next to die; and it is a world that is really well designed and really well filmed by Don Burgess. Everything looks convincing and it doesn't feel like they just shot it out in a desert location, it genuinely feels like a scorched earth. The only slight irritant about the look of the film is that it does feel very much like a great copy of the world of Fallout 3 as created by Bethseda – right down to the design of the "bandits" with their goggles and ragged clothing; this bugged me and those very familiar with this world via gaming may also feel the film is "borrowing" rather than creating.

I talk about the look and style of the film first because to me it is really one of the main reasons to watch this film and indeed for the first 20 minutes or so, it is all we are drifting on – this sense of the cool and the barren without much in the way of who's or why's. Unfortunately when the plot does start to come in, it does so with a terribly corny story and message that wouldn't be out of place in one of those overly-earnest low-budget films made by Christian companies. Indeed this is what this film is – an overly earnest religious film, it just happens to have cost millions and have massive Hollywood stars involved in it. Now, this is the point where you assume that I dislike the film because it is to do with God and the bible, but this wasn't it all at – it didn't help for sure, but this isn't the reason.

The main problem I have is that the film doesn't actually seem interested in making this message work and the plot just seems like a necessary evil to get the character walking in slow-mo around this cool landscape. There isn't much development beyond the basic dialogue about the power of this book and it is nothing but endless corn in the main; I may have respected it more if it had done something with the content, but it doesn't, indeed it seems almost embarrassed by it. The Hughes Brothers for sure aren't particularly interested in that and thus the performances and shots are all about the style, the atmosphere and the look of the film. Accordingly the cast do the same – which is fine because I wonder why they were all queuing up to be in this story. Washington is a great lead because he is all style and presence and he fits the landscape well. Kunis' character makes less sense as she goes on but she is stunning to look at and again fits the style aspect of the film. Oldman's villain is poor and as a result he is only OK.

What all this leaves then is a film that should be watched by fans of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, simply because it is a great film recreation of those worlds, from the colour of the sky down to the costumes it feels and looks like the games. Outside of this though, the casual viewer is left with very little of interest going on behind the style; the story is cloyingly religious and lacking any insight or intelligence – in terms of writing it feels like having two guys at your door trying to sell Jesus to you with platitudes and clichés. It all looks fantastic but unfortunately the script simply doesn't deserve the visuals.