The Book of Eli

As a man of faith this is the easiest review I have ever had to write. This review is about The Book of Eli, one of the best faith based movies I have ever seen. When I first saw the trailer for the movie what really drew me to it was Denzel Washington. I mean look at Washington’s body work Man on Fire, Training Day, Malcolm X, and Philadelphia it doesn’t get any better than this.
Any who, from first judgment it looked like a good movie with a great actor in post apocalyptic action thriller. The one thing I hated about the trailer was the use of the bible. In most of these types of movies the bible is mocked or someone is carrying it around with some secret formula that can save the world; basically mocking the source of my faith, but in this movie the Bible was what it was supposed to be, The Word of God.

Then came the moment of truth, It was a Sunday. My wife and kids went out of town to visit her parents and I had decided to go to the movies. I had no real expectations one way or the other about the movie. I mean it’s a mid January release, how good could it be. I went to PDQ got my snacks and preceded to the theater. After sneaking in my contra band Isettled into my seat.
From the first scene of the movie I knew there was something different. There was no heart pounding music, the color of the movie was almost over exposed like when you take a picture with too much light in the back ground, and the writers didn’t waste words. The dialog in the movie flowed smoothly from one character to another even in the most dangerous action scenes. This is a rarity in movie now days that the dialog doesn’t take you out of the world the writers are trying to create. It seems now in every movie characters have to have some long tirade in the movies that is supposed to be deep and inspiring. Too bad it usually turns out to be some lame PC point of view that no one cares about.

The movie stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Beals, and the underappreciated Ray Stevenson. It’s this cast that made this movie work so well. Oldman as the villain was spectacular. As the dictator of small town with a fresh supply of water Oldmen doesn’t come off as a tyrannical beast who rules with an iron fist. His quite charm is so off putting you almost find yourself understanding his motivations in the movie. Beals plays Oldmens bind indentured servant and lover who does what she needs to protect her daughter Mila Kunis. Kunis has really come into her own lately and does a serviceable job as a girl trying to escape her situation. The most interesting character was that played by Ray Stevenson. He plays the body guard and advisor to Oldmen, but what sets him apart from everyone else is the emotion he emotes just underneath the surface. At first you think he’s just a trained thug, but realize he’s a man in search of some normalcy in a world turned upside down by war. The best thing is that he does this all with his eyes and body language.

Now for what I thought was the greatest part of the movie, the message of FAITH. What is being advertised as an action movie is actually a movie of some Old Testament style faith. I mean the faith you reach down in gut for when life just kicked you in the sack. So some of you don’t think I’m giving out spoilers I’m only mentioning things that were in the trailer. The book that they refer to is the King James Bible and it’s the last one on the planet. Eli (Washington) is carrying the Bible to some place the Lord Yahweh (God, God of Abraham, The almighty, Father of Jesus Christ) is leading him were the book will be safe. It is reveled in the movie that Eli has been wondering around for 30 years protecting and reading the book. Can you imagine your whole life dedicated to protecting God word? How inspiring is that!? The action scenes in the movie are a far second to the message of faith that the Hughes brothers put into the movie. Even when Eli has to protect himself there is no malice to the other person. His only objective is to obey God’s word. Eli shows us even as a man called by God to do his work can fail on many occasions. In the trailer when he fights in the bar you see it’s his will not the Lords that leads him to bar, and in many other instances you see that he knows the word of God but forgets it’s meaning until it’s almost too late.

The movie is filled with little messages that any Christian worth his salt will pick up on. When this movie ended, and it was an OUTSTANDING ENDING, I found myself not thinking about the movie but how can I serve my Lord better. This film inspired me to help myself and others understand Gods word with more zeal. I know it’s just a movie but the message in the movie will move you to act on your faith. The Lord Jesus Christ said “with the faith of a mustard seed you can move a mountain” this movie didn’t move a mountain but it will help some people find that mustard seed.

Here are some scriptures that will help you understand the Eli character:

2 Corinthians 5: 7-10
7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Acts 24:25
24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

1Peter 1: 3-7
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I give this 4 .5 out of 5 stars

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Denzel carried this out without a hitch. I am never disappointed with seeing him in action. I think he is one of the best actors and brought this movie to life. The plot was quite interesting as well, for me the movie had a philosophical message that can be interpreted as spiritual yet satirical at the same time. Satirical in the way it identified the role of the bible in today's society. It also highlights the power of the spoken and written words in combination with faith in times of crisis. I definitely suggest watching it! 2 thumbs up! This film carries a certain character that is sometimes lacking in Hollywood films. It seems to be a combination of Western, action, drama etc all combined in a futuristic yet historical way. I went to watch it with a friend and we were both enthralled and inspired by Eli. A must watch for movie goers!

The best way to describe this film is a “post-apolcalyptic western”. I was a bit surprised by this film. I had heard nothing but good things, but I didn’t expect anything too great. Well, it was pretty good, considering. It’s pretty much like Mad Max with religious overtones. The bad guys ala WaterWorld’s “Smokers”. Eli has a book. The book is pretty important, and he’s been protecting it forever, since the big war tore a hole in the sky!



Well, it’s not what you’re expect, and there is a surprise or two. Mostly the martial arts (Denzel studied martial arts with Dan Inosanto who was trained by Bruce Lee) is really good. Denzel did his own stunts. There is a lot of action, killing, betrayal, ambushes, etc., and it keeps the movie moving right along. Then when you get to the end, you’ve got a few more surprises coming.


I enjoyed watching this. It was much better than I expected it to be. Most action, shoot ‘em up, end of the world type movies leave me cold, but this movie had a lot of stuff to keep it interesting. I enjoyed it a lot.

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I enjoyed it a lot myself... was expecting the usual Post-Apoc film, but this was much more..

I watched it earlier today, and the twist did get me. I thought it was a pretty good flick and it kept me entertained throughout. Denzel was solid as usual and my love for Mila Kunis cannot be stated enough.

I think I need to watch it again now that I know the twist to see if I appreciate anything more.

A Well Done Post Apocalyptic Thriller

The Book Of Eli tells the story of one man, Washington, who must cross the United States and head west to an unknown location, all while protecting a book, with his very life. Along the way he enters a small town, run by a not so nice Gary Oldman. Oldman is looking for a book, one that will give him the power over people. It just so happens that Washington is carrying the one book that he seeks. Thrilling cat and mouse sequence ensues.

I think it's safe to say, that with all the religious marketing the film has been doing that revealing what the book is, is not a spoiler. The book is obviously the bible. According to Eli (Washington) they live in a world that is a result of some kind of nuclear fallout. It is never fully stated, but bits and pieces are thrown out there for the viewer to fill in the rest. Many people thought this happened because of the bible and religion. So every known copy of the bible was burned. Every known copy except for the one Eli has. So he walks west with it in his bag, for 30 years no less.

The Hughes brothers paint their film in dull burnt grays and browns. It fits the apocalypse feel that the movie if obviously trying to go for. The earth is scorched, the characters search for water and trade boring things as if it were currency. It's a very Mad Max/Road Warrior/Fallout 3 vibe. The only other Hughes brother film I have seen was the underrated From Hell. Both films feature great aesthetics. The attention to detail in the set design, costumes and overall atmosphere in both films are great. They also never let their stars overpower the film. I give them, and the leading actors credit to this.

Washington does fine in this role. He's getting up their in age and seems to be able to do martial arts with the best of them. This is his first role in which he has to be physically a bad-ass mofo, who wields a machete like weapon and bow & arrow. His performance is nowhere near the likes of Rubin Carter from the Hurricane or Alonzo from Training Day. Yet he still holds the film confidently. In the supporting roles are Gary Oldman, who returns to his true form as the bad guy, and Mila Kunis, who seems to be showing people she actually has acting chops. Oldman doesn't overact in his usual villainous way (The Professional). Here he seems restrained, yet still eerily creepy.

The more I think about the film, the more I like it in hindsight. When the credits first started to roll, I was a bit upset with what the Hughes were offering us. But upon further reflection and reading up on what other people's thoughts on the ending were, I've come to appreciate it more. It's definitely a film that I want to visit again and pick up on things I missed the first time. If a film makes me want to watch it again, I guess that gets a thumbs up on my part.

Though the last bit of the film does seem to drag on a bit much, the film as a whole works. You are set in this world with them and understand it completely. Of course some people will be scratching their heads in confusion over some things in the film, but for me they worked. The film doesn't really push many religious overtones on you either, which is a bit surprising. Considering all the religious marketing this film has, I was expecting it to play a bigger hand in the film.

Check out The Book of Eli, even with it's obvious apocalypse movie clichés, it's a good flick.

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Suspect's Reviews

I absoulutly loved this movie ive seen it afew times now and it just gets better with multiple viewings

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~In the event of a Zombie Uprising, remember to sever the head or destroy the brain!~

"Post-apocalyptic western" definitely.

'Book of Eli' immediately became a personal favorite when the movie ended. The religious aspects and the western/apocalyptic setting perfectly go hand in hand. I especially thought the score/music fit really well.

I too went into it thinking it was going to be a "good" film. Not great. I enjoyed it very much.

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I enjoyed this movie too. However the initial feel of the movie was a lot more high-tech (the forest scene, with laser guided rifle) than later on (blades and shotguns), wish it was a bit more consistent.

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Daniel Craig movies

Yes.. I also love this Move.. I watched it more than 5 Times.... And still want to see again...

There wasn't any laser-guided rifle.

Anyway, I was pretty meh about it. Really made me want to play Fallout instead.

I have to be succinct in the plot and I can't be briefer than this; the plot is exactly what the title suggests. There's a man name Eli and he has a book. But it gets complicated as both the man and his book are.

The movie deserves appreciation for having a futuristic storyline and criticisms for its failure to execute it properly. Eli has been carrying a book and heading to the west. He is amongst the few who witnessed a cataclysmic event that changed the course of history. His intentions aren't clear and though unclear, they aren't surrounded by the air of mystery due to the mundane approach taken by the script. This is the first area where the movie falls short as the banality in the storyline progresses in a parallel way with the advance of the film.

Even in the hardcore action scenes there's no tension or thrill. We just wait for those scenes to end and the story to move on. Just think of the scene where Eli and Solara take shelter in the grandpa and grandma's house and the ensuing firefight. The entire fight sequence is so ordinary and so predictable that you can just skip it and restart from where Mila Kunis is held captive. Not to mention, we knew the owners of the house would die, because if they live they would have to repair that damaged house, which is a sheer waste of footage.

Another faulty area that I took a note of is wasting two great actors. Gary Oldman stands strikingly good in villainous shades provided the script would let him do that, which isn't the case with this movie. In many scenes, Oldman looks overly dramatic. Had he remained calm throughout excepting the scene where he shouted on his lieutenant ("It's not just a book"), he would have pointed out the importance of the book more poignantly. But it's the script again which barred him from doing so. As for Denzel Washington, he has never been good in action movies and perhaps that's why he misses some degree of robustness. Though it's completely subjective, I think Vin Diesel should have been cast in the role of Eli, Washington never appeared so taken with biblical maxims, he just quotes some along with some others, which aren't ecumenical in any sense ("Stay on the path. It's not your concern. Stay on the path. It's not your concern.")

Mila Kunis couldn't deserve any credit for playing Solara. Her seductiveness (all scenes in which she occurs, shows her cleavage) prevails over her vulnerable appearances (if you can find any) and ended up in vain, because that's one element which can be blended with raw action but not with action packed with tons of sermons each refers to the importance of faith, I really wonder what necessity was there to feature a female character .

There was a twist in the climax, actually two of them, one supplements the other. But due to commonplace direction they just make you "I see, so this dude is..." and that's all. Also, the climax will linger even more than what you fear it to. There's an alternate ending for the DVD version, but that's even more miserable.

To wrap up, I had expectation from the film after going through its trailers. But just a futuristic plot and star cast aren't sufficient for the movie to be stirringly good. The story should be tight and meaningful too.

Nice review.

BUT THIS THREAD IS NOW ABOUT TALIB KWELI.

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"Loves them? They need them, like they need the air."

For so many reasons.

Western. Love story. Tradgedy. Hope. Oh..and the score.

It's a good film. A tad predictable maybe, but I enjoyed it for what it was. And yes, Ross / Reznor's score is frankly amazing.