Book of Eli (2010)

99 out of 102 people found the following review helpful:

Impressive

Gregor12 from , 18th January, 2010

Judging by the trailers I thought this film had potential and I was right. Denzel Washington plays a believable character who is fighting to deliever the message of the bible to re-establish the foundations of a new world with rules and morals. Packed with action, this film is unrealistic at times, but also enthralling which enables you to see through this. Only thing I can pick at - Denzel Washington has perfectly clean teeth, as he is struggling for water anyway, dont think he would have enough to clean his teeth regularly! Great film!

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15 out of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Enjoyable enough post-apocalyptic adventure

VIDEOMONSTER from , 19th January, 2010

This was an enjoyable enough post-apocalypse movie in the style of Mad Max 3. The acting is decent,the cinematography is suitably grim, and the plot is suitably standard. Washington's titular character has the last bible, they were all of them burned after the apocalypse happened. Gary Oldman's Carnegie wants it to control the masses. So the chase begins. The actions scenes are a joy to watch as they become even more outlandish, Washington kicks butt like never before. There are also nice touches which need to be seen to be believed. The ending is surprisingly uplifting as Eli succeeds in his mission. Drawbacks would be that it is plain bible bashing at its finest and some underwritten characters. None the less an enjoyable movie, probably wait to rent it on DVD rather than see it on the big screen.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Pilgrim's Progress

DrWilson from , 19th January, 2010

Stunning scenes. A bit of Mad Max, a lot of The Road, a smattering of classic Western saloon action, and a splash of Waterworld (but not in a bad way). Denzel marching west through a bleached, post-apocalyptic* landscape carrying a rather important book and sporting some proper bad-ass moves. Themes of faith & belief (or lack thereof) and hope & despair (or lack thereof). Some excellent action and cinematography. And Gary Oldman in villain mode, giving it loud and large. * Is post-apocalyptic actually a contradiction in terms...?

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9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Stylish Twist On The Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

JimBobBazza from , 9th February, 2010

The post-apocalyptic genre has, recently, lacked surprises. I was looking forward to The Road because I am a huge fan of the book, but, McCarthy's masterpiece aside, I have been unimpressed by other recent offerings. I have always enjoyed the work of the Hughes Brothers, and I was delighted to find this to be no exception. I was initially dubious about the religious subtext (having been previously made aware of it), and was hopeful that I would not be subjected to 120 minutes of preaching. I don't want to spoil the story, so I will simply say that Eli is a mysterious figure blessed with otherwordly speed and agility; he carries a book West to a destination unknown even to himself. He encounters a literate man, a rarity, in Gary Oldman, who wants the book for himself. Saying anymore, strory-wise, would be unnecessary. The action is beautifully choreographed and implemented; the performances from Washington, Oldman and Mila Kunis (Meg from Family Guy) are excellent and totally rivetting; the script gives us taught, nicely paced dialogue and genuinely interesting story structure; and finally the cinematography is sheer class. The colour pallette is delightful, with a glossy yet metallic grey finish to the barren wasteland that acts as Denzel's post-disaster pathway to his ultimate destination. It is breathtakingly executed. What can one say about Denzel? He is certainly a sure thing. Rumour has it that the powers-that-be had initially rejected the Hughes Brothers' request for Mr. Washington to take centre-stage, believing him to lack the 'worldwide bankability' needed for the feature. Needless to say, he is a stellar performer of the highest calibre, supported here by the ever-reliable Gary Oldman. The pair of them have wonderful chemistry. Could there ever be any doubt? Two of the finest actors of their generation, playing hero and villain, should be a sure thing (disregarding last year's mess that starred Pacino and De Niro, I forget the title). A quick final note on the structure; the film seems to act as an action thriller for the first half, and switches to a moody, dramatic, dialogue-driven piece for the second. This is a subtle change, that works hugely in favour of the film. This type of cinema would usually head in the direction where the protagonist has some kind of insane, end-of-movie climactic battle. Do not expect this. Instead, expect a philosophically driven piece with brilliant performances and a great, hopeful heart at the centre of the film. Go See It.

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I didnt want it to end!

A Customer from London, 6th September, 2010

I loved this film. It was dark, mysterious, well written and lived up to expectations with an unexpected twist. Didnt want it to end at all. Watch it watch it watch it.

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Believable Religious Epic

RachyBaby007 from , 5th September, 2010

At last I find a film that suprises me...I thought having not heard of this film that it was a 'straight to dvd' budget busting flop. But I went out on a limb and I'm glad I did. Overall, this film has a solid beginning, middle and end. Nothing too complicated or too fusy. It does what it says on the tin and it does it well. Denzel is a strong believable character and overshadows the comparibly smaller roles. 4 stars

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*** May contain spoilers ***

Book of Hollywood Cliché’s

steve1959 from , 5th September, 2010

I have enjoyed all the Hughes brothers’ films, until now that is. The Book of Eli claims to be a different post apocalyptic movie, and some of the sets do create a unique sense of a destroyed world. However, listening to the extras and how everyone involved in the film speaks about how different this film is to others of the genre, they either mistakenly assume people would carry on with the same ideology or they never gave it a second thought. Unfortunately this is the films downfall, the characters all become typecast because the ideology of the film is the same as before the apocalypse, and it just plays out as pure propaganda, with every cliché there is. There is the totally predictable action hero, bad guy, rescue and sacrifice. We have to believe that the apocalypse was 30 years earlier, and yet no change in learnt behaviour, hard to believe. As this type of action movie goes it is a good one, but don’t expect anything original.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

BOOK OF ELI

DAZZAT from , 4th September, 2010

THIS WAS A GOOD FILM BIT SLOW TO START BUT WITH A STORY THAT UNVAVELS AS THE FILM PROGRESSES. I MUST ADD I FOUND IT SIMILAR TO MEL GIBSONS MAD MAX IN ITS BACKGROUND AND THE OTHER CHARACTERS . WELL WORTH GETTING COKE AND POPCORN TO CHILL OUT WITH IN FRONT OF THE BOX.

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