The Book of Eli Movie Review–Now THAT’S Irony!
I am extraordinarily happy to tell you about today’s movie, folks, because this is some REALLY good stuff. Frankly, I’m stunned that I found it available in January, because January is commonly regarded as a horrible month for movie releases, mostly because bad movies that are poorly attended can be blamed on bad weather, thus keeping everybody’s jobs in tact.
They don’t call it the “January curse” for nothing.
But The Book of Eli, featuring Denzel Washington and a surprising able Mila Kunis, is definitely going to blow the January curse theory right out of the water.
This features a guy we believe is named Eli, though I can’t remember anyone calling him such. He’s on a mission from God. Yes, just like the Blues Brothers were. Anyway, he’s got to walk the last surviving Bible across the country from somewhere in the east to “the west”. Naturally, this won’t be easy, as everything from random raiders to genteel country cannibals to tinpot dictators will stand arrayed against him.
But Eli’s no ordinary schmoe. He’s got special help on his side. And you won’t believe it.
First off, I want all the Tim LaHayes and Frank Perettis and Kirk Camerons out there to PAY ATTENTION. This is how you do Christian drama. Not that heavy-handed, ham-fisted crapola you keep churning out, but THIS. Seriously, folks, it didn’t even occur to me until after I’d left that this may well have been the first truly good post-Apocalyptic Christian action drama I’d ever seen. It could have been the ONLY truly good post-Apocalyptic Christian action drama I’d ever seen, but the point was, it was definitely good.
The writing is crisp and downright crackerjack, with plenty of action sequences to be had. Denzel Washington is STILL awesome, and as I said, Mila Kunis was unexpectedly good. Those of you still remembering her shrill unpleasantness from That 70s Show will be especially surprised.
There will be some special surprises–no spoilers, but for Fallout 3 fans, you’ll love who Eli finds “out west”. Let’s just say he’s looking a lot less digital out here. And the ending is so packed with ironic moments that you will be able to cut them with a knife.
Really, this is fantastic stuff, and downright unique too. I’ve never seen Christian drama handled this well or on this large a scale. If you want a good dose of dystopia, well done, with a surprisingly uplifting message, then you’ll love this.
The Screenhead Ten Scale, to misquote the phrase, finds no fault with The Book of Eli and hands it a full ten out of ten. It’s too good not to see.
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I had already planned on seeing The Book of Eli. My only hesitation of seeing this movie was who directed this movie (Albert and Allen Hughes). The Hughes brothers are not my favorite directors … or I should say I am not a real fan of most of their previous films they have directed, but for some reason The Book of Eli seemed intriguing to me and I love Denzel Washington as an actor so yesterday I went to see this GREAT movie. I will not ruin the plot … but I really enjoyed the overall plot and the fantastic ending. The cinematography was fantastic and the music that this movie brought to the screen is magnificent. I will want to add the music soundtrack to my library. OK … what could be better … the beginning of this film seemed to me to not come together not as fast as it should. After about ten minutes into the film I was wondering ok what is the reason … why am I here … where is the beginning? This is the only thing I can fault this movie on ant that is the “Not so GREAT beginning.” This movie is well worth seeing and I am glad I spent the time to see Denzel Washington’s performance. I truly believe that he should get an Oscar nomination. One last comment … I now have a movie that I truly love that has been directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. One final comment … it is very refreshing to see a movie on the big screen that at least acknowledges that there is a God that cares for mankind.
This film, which has been slammed by some critics, is brilliant and internally consistent.
Denzel Washington is fantastic. Mila Kunis is surprisingly apt in her role and the intelligence of this film is surprising.
It seems to be a metaphor for a biblical prophet. Eli is a fantastically flawed character.
To me this is a great movie. I really dont think it should be rated R. PG13 would be more understandable. There are no dirty parts, but there are alot of killing. [...]
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