The Book of Eli - Review

Denzel Washington in post-apocalyptic action adventure is (kind of) entertaining as long as you can suspend disbelief and ignore logic or reason.

The film is set in the not too distant future, in the wasteland that has become the United States. A traveler, Washington's Eli is walking west. Why? Because he carries a package and that must be delivered. The earth as we know it is no more. A war has destroyed landscapes, wild life and resources. Everything is in limited supply. Things are in such limited supply one can barter with KFC hand wipes.

Along the way Eli has to overcome traps and cannibals. He arrives at a town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman) and his gang. In a time when few can read because of a war in which books were burned, Carnegie searches for one book that he can use to run his town and possibly the world? He is searching for the Bible. We come to learn that every Bible ever created has been burned except the one which is in the possession of Eli. Eli and Carnegie have some fights and shoot outs that are part western and part Mad Max. With divine guidance and strong convictions , Eli goes West to San Francisco where a small community is trying to rebuild society through intellectual thought and science. This group take the bible and with a newly constructed printing press they copy it along with other important pieces of literature and thought.

The Book of Eli is the first film directed by the Hughes brothers in almost 10 years. Albert and Allen Hughes have only made a few films since there breakout debut, Menace II Society in 1993. I am not really sure if this method helps them or hurts them. Eli has some decent action sequences, a downplayed performance by Washington and a positive religious message that is not offensive. The film is smart enough to suggest the power the bible and it's message can have while being used for good or evil. Unfortunately the film is not smart enough to build on it's backdrop, characters or plot lines.

For example, the film is set up on the principle that Eli has been walking with the Bible for 30 years trying to get west. It is 2905 miles from New York City to San Francisco. You understand that food or shelter is not easily accessible but with that amount of time to travel, Eli would only have to walk 1/3 of a mile per day to reach the west coast. With a questionable ending, one also wonders whether or not Eli is able to see? The viewer never really knows about the war that brought upon such destruction - nuclear war? You don't know why all books or sources of knowledge were burned - religious war? If so, who won? With limited resources and little to no civilization in sight, how are people still using motorcycles or cars? The list could go on.

If you are curious for information or come into this film questioning why things are they way they are then you will leave unsatisfied. If you can suspend disbelief long enough to ignore the giants wholes or gaps in the script then you might have a good time. Washington is relatively subdued as the traveler on a spiritual mission. He brings a certain humility to the character that makes his performance somewhat stand out. Oldman performance is a bit strange as it seems like he is trying to do his best impersonation of Jack Nicholson. At two hours long, it does get bogged down in the middle and addition of the Mila Kunis character Solara turns a somewhat predictable film into a more very predictable film. At least the Hughes brothers have enough class to resist the temptation to turn Kunis into a sex object. Sorry movie goers but there are no shower scenes, bikini shots or even any romantic twist between Washington and Kunis. Thank goodness. And even in post apocalyptic films there is still plenty of room for product placement.

The Book of Eli is bound to land itself on the "there is nothing else to watch on cable" guilty pleasures list. It's not horrible but it's not very good. It's a film with a religious theme that is not overtly offensive which can be a difficult trick to pass. A good idea that goes under the file - underdeveloped.