Movie Review - 'The Book of Eli'

The Book of Eli Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis Directed by Allen and Albert Hughes Rated R

Given a few more points than such a thing might be worth in the final accounting, The Book of Eli just about draws even thanks to the way Allen and Albert Hughes envision the post-apocalypse. However, the look of the film isn't always executed well, and when the green screen and effects backfire the film looks terribly cheap. All hope is not lost, though - again, this film is almost successful - thanks to another solid, enviable performance by the great Denzel Washington and a central story that launches you well into the first hour of the action before you have any second thoughts about it. We eventually learn that a global nuclear war had caused the apocalypse 30 years earlier. Eli (Washington) is what is called a walker. He's a nomad, from nowhere and apparently heading nowhere. His mission, as he sees it, began about a year after the war, when the few survivors climbed out of whatever underground bunker they had stayed in while waiting out the radiation. All that's left in the world now are small packs of gypsies, now experienced as killers and thieves as the most precious resources in the world are water, fire, and...uh...wetnaps from KFC. Most of the denizens Eli encounters are a generation younger, meaning they didn't know the world before. Because the nuclear holocaust radically changed Earth's climate, the intensity of the sun forces everyone to wear sunglasses and keeps the soils dry and infertile. The younger generation doesn't know what green grass is and none of them know how to read since books were also victims of the world's militarization three decades earlier. That makes Eli's mission that much more important. He's walking west with a very special book, one that the armies of the world sought to destroy after the big explosion because of the hope it could provide those who were left standing. The device seems a little cloying at first, but the Hughes Brothers (and screenwriter Gary Whitta) use it well to set up the necessary events of the movie, making the book a vital tool for Carnegie (Gary Oldman), less a leader than a peacekeeper in one dried-up western outpost. He has power because he knows where the water is, but he realizes how much more power he can gain if he has the words in the book. It's a decent enough gimmick that gives Eli someplace to go, but there is, regrettably, not much thought to where that someplace is. Dead weight abounds in this film, from Mila Kunis to Tom Waits to several henchmen too many. A possibly more enthralling 90-minute action flick with a few great monologues winds up at two hours with obvious sandbags. For an apocalypse with so few people left, there sure are a lot of them in this one location. But even those issues would be easier to accept if the production itself had more polish. The effects, mostly swooshing clouds to add depth to the scenery, are patently awful. And to accommodate them, the Hughes Brothers make questionable decisions with the camera, cutting to etreme close-ups of characters at odd, inconsequential moments, and shooting from well below eye level to capture the mood of the computer generated sky. It is at its worst in a rowboat; I'll leave it at that. The muscial score is, however, the most sinister offender. It's from Atticus Ross, and this is his feature debut as a composer. To put it mildly, he has plenty of room to grow. Eli gets off to a great start, has some neat action scenes, and is at times photographed very well. But that's about it. The story raises some themes most movies won't touch, so there's that, but you might feel like you want 40 - 50% of your money back.

Comments

[Vince]

Wait, wait, wait? REALLY? That's the sacred book that he's protecting? Man, I should've known that it would be so obvious. That kinda pisses me off, but what the hell, they probably should've just called it "The Book of Macguffin".

Oh Book of Eli I was hoping you'd be different...

[ramsay]

Lame...I mean, I'll still go see it because of Denzel, but I had high hopes for this one.

[quin browne]

it sounds like the road if it had been directed by mel gibson.

[mdamien13]

Bummer, I was looking forward to seeing the Hughes Brothers back in action. I've tended to agree with your thoughts on movies for the most part so this just got kicked down to second-run theater status or rental.

[Brandon]

I might go see it. Its getting a lot of mixed reviews.

[whitewolf2k3]

"it sounds like the road if it had been directed by mel gibson"

Not saying im a Gibson fanboy...but i'd have to wager if Gibson would have directed, it would have been much better. Just me though.

[Brandon]

Anyone get a sense of madmax meets the road?

[Get The Big Picture]

Not really enough action for the Mad Max part of it.