The Book of Eli - Movie Review

I recently watched The Road, a post-apocalyptic film that was about survival and parental love. It was an exceptional film in spite of the slow pace. The Book of Eli uses the same monochromatic imagery and washed out color to convey a rich visual connection to the subject matter. The film takes great indulgences that made it difficult for me to accept what I was seeing. I enjoyed the film, but didn't quite follow it.

When I have a chance to view The Book of Eli next, I may come back and re-write this review. There was one major plot twist at the end that I am not buying. Maybe it was not intended to be a plot twist, but rather a progression (in which case I still take issue with the premise it is built on). I don't want to give away a major spoiler, but I will have to watch the entire film over again to be certain. There are a couple of distinct scenes that I recall that seem to cast doubt on this final twist.

Eli (Denzel Washington) walk alone. He is known as a "walker" in a post-apocalyptic world where brutality is the rule of law. Whoever is strong enough to keep what they have survives. The weak perish. Eli is a vessel. His objective is to walk west, where he will find humanity rebuilding thirty-one years after "the flash." During his journey, Eli encounters road raiders, cannibals and highway robbers. He avoids the ones he can and kills the ones he can't avoid.

Eli's fate changes course when he stumbles into a small town built near a natural spring. The town is run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man obsessed with obtaining a copy of the Bible. Few people survived the war. Those who survived blamed the good book for the events leading up to the war and burned every copy of the book. One book survived. It is this book that Eli has sworn to protect to a final destination that came to him in a voice. Carnegie wants the book, and first uses seduction to try and obtain it. He sends attractive young Solara (Mila Kunis) to try and seduce him. When that fails, Carnegie tries force. Carnegie ultimately succeeds in getting what he wants, but you should be careful what you wish for.

Carnegie's goal in obtaining the Bible is to tap into the power that compels people. I think he envisioned himself as a post-apocalyptic Jim Jones without the kool-aid. Carnegie is well-read, but he might have heeded the word of William Shakespeare who wrote "words without thoughts never to heaven go." The most appropriate quote I could think of to summarize his folly.

The Book of Eli does not tell an exceptional story, but it is certainly a good story. It finds hope in a bleak world. It has characters that are well developed, not completely predictable and interesting. The dialogue provides enough sustenance to maintain interest. The plot was somewhat predictable, although I guessed wrong on the plot twist that I knew was coming...but I was close. The ending was satisfying enough to make the journey worthwhile. The visual appeal of the story surpassed the written aspects by a long shot.

The visual qualities of The Book of Eli use a combination of monochrome filters that provide the film the cold eerie backdrop a film like this needs. Other scenes are warmer, using washed out colors to provide just enough heat to knock the catastrophic chill off. The use of color was carefully infused into the film to help alter the mood and give the audience a sense of the characters. It was an effective use of light and color that established a strong foundation for the film.

Denzel Washington makes the money he makes for a reason. He seems to expend little effort to create characters that leap off the screen. His engaging performances earn him plenty of work. This film was no different. Washington was excellent as usual. Gary Oldman was a convincing heavy. He provided the right dose of intellect and insanity to his character to make the part work. I really enjoyed his performance which another actor might have overdone. Kunis was good, but I had a wardrobe issue with her. It was hard for me to accept that she was born in a post-apocalyptic world and was able to find brand new jeans that fit snugly. She looked like she just walked out of Abercrombie and Fitch. She was okay...but the wardrobe ruined her character for me and squashed the illusion.

The Book of Eli was a decent film, but not quite as convincing to me as The Road. I don't feel right putting the two on equal footing. My biggest issues with the film involved what I perceived to be plot holes along with the wardrobe issues. From a cinematic perspective, the film was brilliant. The visual appeal was perfection. The performances lent to the credibility of the film. I enjoyed watching but had nagging issues that wouldn't go away. I really wanted this film to be better...but it never materialized for me. The pacing was also off a few times. This film was better than three stars, but not quite four. I am going to round down this time to three stars. If you are looking for a film in this genre, pick The Road first and this one second. 7.5/10

Trailer and images subject to copyright.