The Book Of Eli (2010)
Directed by The Hughes Brothers
Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
Yet another post apocalyptic melodrama, whoop de woo. This film tries for but doesn't reach the heights of 'The Road Warrior' or 'The Road'; it's the same world, the same thematic, but Eli is too bogged down with religious context. The story is one note and there is not enough dramatic meat for either great actor to get their teeth into.
The film opens with a long montage of a strong-able-fighting-loner Eli (Washington) walking in the desert heading west, says he's been walking for 30yrs since the apocalypse. He carries with him a King James Bible that he protects with his life, a large knife that he wields effortlessly and a pair of scratch free designer sunglasses he never takes off - we find out why later. He carries with him the last Bible on earth, hmm. It turns out Eli is heading to Alcatraz Island where men now live free - what? At Alcatraz there is a printing press and a library run and protected by fuddy duddy Malcolm McDowell. Eli is taking the good book to its proper home.
Along the way Eli encounters Carnegie (Oldman) an evil wild-west style Boss who runs a ramshackle town. Oldman has been sending henchmen out looking for a copy of The Bible for years; he wants to use the Book to control people. We've seen this all before. Eli fights to stay alive and protect the good book which Oldman eventually steals but alas cant read WHY because its a Braille Bible. Eli is BLIND - what!! Trust me this comes as a zinger. Its okay because Eli has memorized the entire book and when he finally makes it to Alcatraz (on a rowing boat with Kunis) he dictates the Bible word for word from memory to Malcolm McDowell. I kid you not thats what happens.
Oldman is a serious actor and even he couldn't save this film. It was over stylized (visually) and the religious theme was ham-fisted. Also Denzel's expression did not change from start to finish, he held an icy grimace the entire time, until we realize he is blind. No big arc here. Mila Kunis makes an strange appearance as visual eye-candy but she stands out like a sore thumb next to the two heavyweight leads.
It is entertaining in parts with Eli's impregnable samurai fighting style, but its too serious overall and gets bogged down by its religious context. The climax is fun to watch as the two stars duke it out. The Hughes brothers have a sleek style but this film didn't work for me. It felt to me as if this story may have come from a Graphic Novel, typically too undeveloped for the big screen, but alas didn't. The film didnt have enough twists or a dynamic engaging plot and this combined with so little action made it a bum number for me. Its not a terrible film but considering the quality of the actors and the size of budget I expected way more..
Elevator Pitch: It's the end of the world, resources are at an end. There is no food, no fuel, no water, no government nor law and alas there are no books. HOWEVER, there is an abundance of brand new unscratched designer sunglasses (to protect their eyes), Malcolm McDowell rowed a 6 ton printing press out to Alcatraz Island (to save the books), and Denzil is a ninja (because that's awesome).
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