The Book of Eli
Submitted by Matthew Sheehan on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 04:12.
The Hughes’ brothers’ first film since (the vastly underrated) “From Hell” is a well-made homage to almost every post-apocalyptic film ever made (“Planet of the Apes,” “Escape from New York,” “I Am Legend” or last year’s “The Road,” to name a few notables). It could’ve been called “Denzel: Beyond Thunderdome.”
Denzel Washington is Eli, the possessor of what is believed to be the last remaining Bible in the world. He is a lone man, traveling and reading that book of his in solitary solitude.
Occasionally, he must dispatch some of those pesky renegades pent on taking what little is left from what few humans remain. I suppose he, too, is the Man With No Name in those iconic spaghetti Westerns.
Carneigie (Gary Oldman) is a quasi-dictator of a barely-there town bent on finding a Bible to preach and control humanity… and in strolls Eli.
Did I mention the Westerns already?
Eli leaves that town, and Carnegie hot on his tail. But he’s not the only follower. Solara (Mila Kunis), daughter of the blind woman (Jennifer Beals) that Carnegie holds in his “possession,” wants to learn Eli’s badass ways… and of his book.
Although a good film, “The Book of Eli” is not great. The pacing seems off (a good 20 minutes could be gone from him, unmissed), but a slow first half gives way to a solid second half. And when the action picks up—strap in.
Denzel does what he does best: he brings it. And in a semi-action movie, it’s a different role we were not likely to see him in. Then again, we never thought he could pull off a crooked, dirty cop, but look what “Training Day” did for him. But he doesn’t act like an action star in this. He’s subtle, quiet—more Eastwood’s aforementioned Man With No Name than Arnold.
Oldman does what you would expect of him as a villain—obsessive, maniacal, controlling. Not exactly scenery chewing, but certainly eating up the fun.
Kunis displays a surprising range, although she can still come off a little forced, even comical. Comedy is her strong point, most aptly displayed in 2008’s fantastic “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
It looks good (Ironic that a planet blasted and burnt almost always looks good in a film), and the action scenes and well structured.
The Hughes and Denzel might not have struck new ground, but they must’ve read “The Rules According to the End of the World.”
They followed that book to a tee.
Rating:
The Hughes’ brothers’ first film since (the vastly underrated) “From Hell” is a well-made homage to almost every post-apocalyptic film ever made (“Planet of the Apes,” “Escape from New York,” “I Am Legend” or last year’s “The Road,” to name a few notables). It could’ve been called “Denzel: Beyond Thunderdome.”Denzel Washington is Eli, the possessor of what is believed to be the last remaining Bible in the world. He is a lone man, traveling and reading that book of his in solitary solitude.
Occasionally, he must dispatch some of those pesky renegades pent on taking what little is left from what few humans remain. I suppose he, too, is the Man With No Name in those iconic spaghetti Westerns.
Carneigie (Gary Oldman) is a quasi-dictator of a barely-there town bent on finding a Bible to preach and control humanity… and in strolls Eli.
Did I mention the Westerns already?
Eli leaves that town, and Carnegie hot on his tail. But he’s not the only follower. Solara (Mila Kunis), daughter of the blind woman (Jennifer Beals) that Carnegie holds in his “possession,” wants to learn Eli’s badass ways… and of his book.
Although a good film, “The Book of Eli” is not great. The pacing seems off (a good 20 minutes could be gone from him, unmissed), but a slow first half gives way to a solid second half. And when the action picks up—strap in.
Denzel does what he does best: he brings it. And in a semi-action movie, it’s a different role we were not likely to see him in. Then again, we never thought he could pull off a crooked, dirty cop, but look what “Training Day” did for him. But he doesn’t act like an action star in this. He’s subtle, quiet—more Eastwood’s aforementioned Man With No Name than Arnold.
Oldman does what you would expect of him as a villain—obsessive, maniacal, controlling. Not exactly scenery chewing, but certainly eating up the fun. Kunis displays a surprising range, although she can still come off a little forced, even comical. Comedy is her strong point, most aptly displayed in 2008’s fantastic “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
It looks good (Ironic that a planet blasted and burnt almost always looks good in a film), and the action scenes and well structured.
The Hughes and Denzel might not have struck new ground, but they must’ve read “The Rules According to the End of the World.”
They followed that book to a tee.
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