The Book of Eli [DVD]

'The Book of Eli' is a post-apocalyptic action film that released in 2010 to mixed reveiws and deserved box-office success.

The movie is set thirty years after an apocalyptic event and shows the mysterious Eli (Denzel Washington) travelling on foot towards the west coast of the United States to deliver an important book to a place of safety. During the travelling Eli attempts to overcome many dangerous obstacles.

The movie starts with a visually stunning scene, which sets the mood for a thrilling experience, progresses with a good build-up of tension and excitement and finally climaxes with a couple of cracking twists. The final twist is something you can't predict.

The story may seem straight forward but what makes it something special is the combination of the mystery surrounding Eli's character and the book, engrossing performances, emotional/dramatic scenes and an addition of well placed exciting action. It's a simple story told in an authentic manner making the full movie interesting and entertaining from beginning to end.

Denzel Washington who is also one of the producers of the movie puts in a restrained but a really likeable and moving performance. He's appealing as an action hero due to looking trimmed and at the same time is cool with the shades. Washington also impresses with his smooth and convincing dialogue delivery. Gary Oldman is ideal and effective as the main villain. The verbal exchanges between Washington and Oldman pack a punch. The surprise package in the movie is Mila Kunis who enacts the role of Solara. Her performance is to an extent stong and provides excellent support to Washington.

The direction provided by The Hughes Brothers (consists of the twins, Albert and Allen Hughes) is excellent. The full movie is executed in the best possible manner. The action scenes are enjoyable and balanced out well, preventing the momentum of the movie from plummeting. They managed to make every scene interesting and succeeded in keeping the viewer entertained. 'The Book of Eli' is their fifth directorial feature and it's their BEST.

The cinematography by Don Burgess is stylish and beautiful. You get to see an amazing view of a dystopic future, it's depressing but stunning. The background setting just demands appreciation.

There are five main HEROES in the movie, Washington, The Hughes Brothers, the cinematography and last but not least, the world class background music score, which is provided by Atticus Ross. The music is great, situational and full of hope. It really gets you going, especially in the scenes where you see Washington continuing with his journey after each obstacle.

The only flaw in the movie is that the main character, Eli and the apocalyptic event, are not well-defined, leaving the veiwer with a few unanswered questions.

The movie has not done as well as it should have due to a poor marketing campaign and mainly because of the highest grossing movie of all time, 'Avatar' keeping the audience away.

'The Book of Eli' is an underrated book that is worth a watch.

Ignoring the obvious and superficial Christian emphasis of the underlying plot, this film superbly chronicles one man's pilgrimage to take the only surviving copy of the bible to the last bastion of civilisation (in America, that is) surrounded by the barbaric degeneration of the few survivors of the apocalyptic event. Interestingly, there are undertones of anti-Christianity running through the plot; all of the bibles, bar one, were destroyed after the event that, presumably, Christian fundamentalism had somehow caused; and Gary Oldman's character`s desperate attempt to obtain the bible as a means to control the populace (opium for the masses, anybody?).

The film is dark, grim and unrelenting, shot with almost monochrome harshness. Denzel Washington's performance was brilliant as was Gary Oldman's (has he ever played a goodie?) and the cameo appearances of Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon were delightful. The storyline was engaging and, without the usual Hollywood formulaic sloppy bits, perfectly matched the moody cinematography.

All-in-all, an excellent film superbly cast and peppered with just enough mysticism & symbolism - a worthy addition to the post-apocalyptic movie genre. The only criticism may be that every character was a bit of a caricature and that, really, the genre hasn't evolved much beyond Thunderdome.

The Book of Eli is directed by The Hughes Brothers and written by Gary Whitta. It stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beales. Music is by Atticus Ross and photography by Don Burgess. Story is set thirty years after a nuclear war and finds Washington as Eli, who is travelling on foot across the desolated landscape to the West of the United States to deliver a sacred book. It's a journey fraught with danger, more so when a stopover in what remains of a town brings him into contact with self appointed town leader Carnegie (Oldman). For Carnegie seeks the book that Eli is guarding with his life......

Post apocalypse movies have had a good run over the years, it's a theme that holds a morbid interest to film makers and film watchers alike. The Hughes Brothers have attempted to give this particular strand some new life by blending the sombre tone of something like Viggo Mortensen starrer, The Road, with Mad Max violence. A blend, it has to be said, that doesn't come totally off as Eli is in turns a God fearing man of few words, then the next a Kali martial artist laying waste to apocalyptic rapists and thieves. Further problems arise with the miscasting of Kunis. A good actress who looks yummy supreme here, but that's half the problem, she just doesn't look right in this apocalyptic set-up, while some of the daftness that comes with her character arc is barely palatable.

However, if accepting it on its two fold terms, it's great as a mood piece and fun as an actioner! Washington is such a watchable star, someone who can lift an average film to better heights. Although this is not one of those average films, he has a commitment to the role of Eli that gives it a believability factor that few modern day actors in the same age group can. Having Oldman on bad guy duties is invariably a good thing, and he duly delivers another memorable one to file in the cabinet, while there's an amusing couple of cameos from Michael Gambon and Frances de la Tour as a husband and wife duo with issues. The look and sound of the film is also impressive, with Ross (co-soundtrack collaborator the Social Network) and the Hughes' scoring it industrial like, and Burgess (Forrest Gump/Cast Away/Source Code) capturing a graphic novel like beauty from the back drop of devastation..

With a couple of genuine surprises up its sleeve, film can't be faulted for lacking ideas, the Brothers to be applauded for not delivering the same old same old post apocalyptic based picture. But it's difficult to accept a bleak message movie (sermon) when the action is so outrageously fun. I liked it very much, but not in the way I had originally hoped. Pays your money and takes your chance, besides, Denz and Gaz are worth the punt anyway. 7/10