The Book of Eli (2010)

The Book of Eli (2010)

7/10

Starring

Denzel Washington

Gary Oldman

Mila Kunis

Directed by The Hughes Brothers

We’ve seen it happen many times—critics and audiences are often wrong about a movie at first glance. The Book of Eli is one of those films that I believe will be appreciated much more in the future. While it wasn’t a box office hit upon release, grossing 157milliononan157milliononan80 million budget, it did exceptionally well in DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals.

Standing out as one of the best post-apocalyptic movies I’ve seen, The Book of Eli is set in a western-style world after a nuclear disaster. The once-beautiful world we know has turned into a wasteland where cannibalism thrives due to food shortages, and people are willing to trade anything for water.

This adaptation of a post-apocalyptic world is one I thoroughly enjoy—not because I look forward to the end of the world, but because the movie injects excitement into the lead character’s journey to deliver a book that could change everything.

The Book of Eli stars Denzel Washington as Eli, a wanderer on a mission driven by his faith in God. His goal is to travel west and deliver a King James Bible to the right people.
To stay focused on his journey, Eli avoids getting involved in the struggles of those around him. His survival is aided by his exceptional fighting skills and mastery of a blade, which he uses to fend off anyone who stands in his way and to hunt for food to stay strong.

Along his path, Eli arrives at a town where he’s forced to stay the night. The town is run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man obsessed with finding a Bible.
Carnegie controls the town’s water supply and everything else, ruling with an iron fist. He also keeps slaves, including Claudia and her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis). A series of events brings Eli and Solara together, and when Carnegie discovers Eli has a Bible, he becomes determined to take it. This forces Eli to flee with Solara as his companion, while Carnegie and his men give chase.

You could argue that one decision in the movie sets everything in motion. If Eli had helped a couple being attacked by hoodlums instead of looking the other way, the entire story might have unfolded differently. But that thread, I believe, was left there to show the consequences of turning a blind eye.

The movie doesn’t stop delivering surprises until the very end. Just when you think it’s over or you’ve figured out what’s coming next, get ready for some jaw-dropping moments that will leave you saying, “WTF?”