The Book of Eli
Post-apocalyptic movies tend to be very derivative. Barren waste lands patrolled by marauding gangs who terrorize the rest of the population. Food and fuel is always scarce and the main villain is after whatever will make him the king. Dennis Hopper in “Waterworld” hoards fuel and is searching for dry land. In “Mad Max,” it is the same basic plot. More recently, films have taken these themes and turned them on their ear a bit. “The Road,” for instance, does not really have a villain. It functions as more of a survival story, about a father trying to protect his son and make his way to the ocean. “Zombieland,” which is a straight-up comedy, is a survival guide on how to avoid being eaten.
The Book of Eli is more “Waterworld” than “Zombieland.”
The world has been decimated by war. Thirty years earlier, most of the population was destroyed and forced to go underground. When the people emerge, there is no law, no government and almost no history of civilization. People have taken to cannibalism, since most of the planet’s wildlife is extinct.
Denzel Washington is Eli, a loner who is making his way west. He is not particularly imposing, but in the first scenes of the film, he demonstrates the lengths he will go to, not only to survive, but to protect his cargo. He dispatches a group of men who attempt to rob him with such speed and skill that Bruce Lee would stand in awe.
He comes across a town that is controlled Carnegie, played by Gary Oldman. After Eli is attacked in Carnegie’s bar, he is persuaded to stay the night and rest.
It turns out that Carnegie is also on a mission. He is in pursuit of a certain book that might be in Eli’s possession, and he will do anything to obtain it. The “Book of Eli’s” third act goes in a direction that should not be given away. It’s original and is so different from anything I’ve seen before, it would be unfair to spoil it.
“The Book of Eli” is a very entertaining film. The action is fast and brutal. Unlike a lot of modern action movies, the fights are not heavily edited. No quick cuts that make the action difficult to follow.
The photography is exceptional. The color palette is mostly grey and brown and sets a very distinct tone. It is a very interesting film to look at because there is quite a bit of computer-generated imagery but it looks like a very real landscape. The cinematographer is Don Burgess, who typically shoots much lighter fare. He shot “Spider-man” and “The Polar Express,” to name a couple. This is a very different style.
The other standout feature of this movie is the music. It was scored by Atticus Ross, who I have not heard of. This is the first full feature he has done music for and it’s fantastic and original. I literally have not heard anything like it.
The “Book of Eli” poses the question of how religion plays into our world. Is it a guide from God on how to live? Is it a device invented by man to control people and how they live their lives? This film is not just about a post-apocalyptic world, but about a world that is trying to recover and rebuild, and about how religious ideology and mythology can affect the minds of men.
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This was such a great movie. Well worth seeing.
I like pretty much everything about it. The acting is good across the board. The visual style is interesting. The only thing that bumped me a bit was the Solara character. Not that Mila Kunis doesn’t do a good job. I think she is good, but her wardrobe was inconsistent with the rest of the film. Everyone is dirty with old clothes and she looks like she walked out of the Gap for the whole thing. I can’t imagine that was on purpose