Well, I finally got around to checking out
The Book of Eli which has been on my radar for sometime. Well, since it basically came out that is. But so much time went by that other than knowing it has
Denzel Washington roaming the vast wasteland in a post apocalyptic world, I didn't remember what the movie was about going into it tonight. The style and look of the film is definitely another one that pays homage to
The Road Warrior. But even though
Eli is set 30 years after the "Flash", it still feels very "contemporary" by comparison.
Even though I didn't remember anything from the trailer, I did remember that I was excited to see this one, more so tonight now that the DVD was finally in my hand. Well, sadly
The Book Of Eli under-performed. It's not a bad movie, it's just that I kind of, unfairly that is, built it up a bit higher than I should have. I love the post-apocalyptic world genre and tend to always get overly enthusiastic in watching them.
So, what was "wrong" with
Eli? Well, namely the problem was with
Gary Oldman. He usually plays great villains, but in this one he never seemed like a credible threat at all and he was almost a non-factor when you think about it and by the end, he was just lame and there wasn't any sort of pay-off to his demise. The other thing working against the movie is that even though
Eli is "heading out West", it's kind of an aimless movie. With that said, the twist at the end does definitely give you a "what the f*ck" reaction that is actually pretty good. Very clever. The twist makes you immediately replay the entire movie in your head as you start to piece little things together. The set up is actually good. The idea that one man is carrying the last known copy of the Bible is rich with possibilities story-wise.
I think the movie is decent enough, but nowhere near the likes of
The Road Warrior for sure. This is worth a
Rent if you don't have anything else to watch. I say give it a chance just for the twist. I won't say anything about it because I figure you peeps may have skipped this one. So, give it a shot. If that's not incentive enough, it's got
Mila Kunis and
Jennifer Beals as well.