Screenplay:
Gary WhittaCinematography:
Don BurgessCast:
Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Lateef Crowder (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways, seared earth - all around him, the marks of catastrophic destruction. There is no civilization here, no law. The roads belong to gangs that would murder a man for his shoes, an ounce of water… or for nothing at all. But they’re no match for this traveler. A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli (Denzel Washington) seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It’s not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive - and continue. Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed despot of a makeshift town of thieves and gunmen. Meanwhile, Carnegie’s adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) is fascinated by Eli for another reason: the glimpse he offers of what may exist beyond her stepfather’s domain. But neither will find it easy to deter him. Nothing - and no one - can stand in his way. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
As an action movie, this is an absolutely awesome ride that I enjoyed. But then there's the problem that this is actually a movie about being made by a group of strong believers who want to convey a very important message. Without the Bible, we're fucked. This is such unbelievable drivel that I almost wanted to cry sadly at the end.
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A few knife fights and one bigger shootout do not make an action epic. And what's worse, one questionable reveal and a few attempts at existential dialogues do not create a drama at all. The Book of Eli stumbles from nowhere to nowhere, the actors meander precisely into their predictable boxes, and everything ends with one big question mark as to whether this was actually meant seriously. With a reasonable bit of removal, it is still a weaker, disjointed nothingness that is just a few glimpses of a post-apocalyptic atmosphere above the one-star threshold.
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One of the most ridiculously WTF stupid things I’ve seen this year. The atmosphere is alright, and so are the performances, the problem is that I am not able to get over the twist, which is utterly pointless and pulled out of a (religious) ass, notwithstanding its outcome, which is just idiotic. The dialogues are toe curling (the Bible), Denzel fights better than Chuck Norris and The Book of Eli was an annoying film experiences. 30 %
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I can see why Joel Silver tried to sell this film as a spectacular post-apocalyptic action flick. When the Hughes brothers presented him with the final cut, it must have been clear that he had poured eighty million into something that would never come back for the rest of his life. The Book of Eli is quite an unconventional road movie, which in its symbiotic audio/video position has an almost meditative effect. It's strange that even the few moments that get going (all of which were then furiously edited into the trailer) fit in and don't distract from it all. My only criticism is directed at the screenwriter, who sometimes lets the meaningfulness of the plot slip through his fingers. It's unfortunate that, according to the reviews, many were expecting another Terminator with the added bonus of a shocking point, which you can guess from the plot outline (and the poster), so there’s no point in ranting about it.
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Superb Denzel in a solidly apocalyptic roaming movie. The Hughes brothers’ directing comes across a little abstract, but the world that Eli roams looks damn impressive. The action is really good, even if a little forced, to make sure we don’t get bored on the journey. Mila Kunis is cute with or without her sunglasses. And also San Francisco is one of my favorite cities and seeing it in that condition was worth it.
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