The Book of Eli

DENZEL WASHINGTON IS PHENOMENAL! My Rating: **** - Great



Denzel Washington should have won an Oscar for this movie even though the last Oscars were for films of 2009 and not 2010. All the same, they could have made an exception. Anyway, in this plot, the creativity is to such a degree that this film will leave you interested but it avoids the dangers of predictability. For the very reason that it's creative. Also, from the heart of the film, it might as well be DIVINE creativity. In this futuristic story, God has had it up to here (imagine me holding my hand high above my head) with America. We have become extremely greedy and sinful and spoiled and take everything for granted(or heck we already have). So God destroys America in an event referred by some of the characters as "the flash". In the aftermath, America as we know it becomes desolate. Very little life is left to walk the soils of the country and most life that IS left is fighting in somewhat of a "caveman type war" over dwindling resources. So, God chose one man, Eli (Denzel Washington) to protect the last Bible on Earth and take it far west. So, with no other form of transportation and very little food and water (but God still provides), Eli has been walking. Walking west and west and west, to complete his God-given task. And has been doing so for 30 years. That's where the movie starts off. And anyone who gets in the way, well, that's another story. As he is under attack by a man named Carnegie(Gary Oldman) who is hooked on getting his hands on that book. The film's depiction of the state of the world in the story is crystal clear and gets for the most part straight to the point. Minus the pretty slow beginning. This is mostly due to the very good acting. Gary Oldman's performance is almost as good as his role in "The Dark Knight" and Denzel Washington's performance is GREAT...just like all of his other films. The action scenes, or at least 90% of them, go down like this: Eli will try to avoid trouble, but some idiots always gotta start it so they attack him, ALWAYS in groups of at least 10, Eli will repeat some verses from the good book that kind of "match" his battles, and then, well, he goes straight to the slicin' and dicin'. After that, he just moves on with his task. Once you see these scenes, you know this guy doesn't mess around. Equipped with guns, knives, a bow and arrows, a small sword, and divine protection, he's one unstoppable man against a thousand men with immovable ways. While, as you can tell, it IS a dark film. But, at the same time, it is also a hopeful one. Which is also how I would describe the film's soundtrack. The somewhat "theme-TUNE" of the movie is very dark but yields a spark of hope. The cinematography is very unique. Almost as if most of the film is "tinted" with a sun-burnt brown color. But does have some normally lighted scenes. But, whatever faults the film may have, a little slowness, a little gore(but the "tint" blocks most of it.), and a somewhat depressing mood, all contribute to costing it a potential fifth star. But, if you can look past all of that or even the outer coat of the film itself, under it all, especially with the ending, there is beauty and moral value in the movie. And that's no leap of faith.

Starring: Denzel Washington Director: The Hughes Brothers

Gary Oldman

Mila Kunis