The Book of Eli takes place in your clichéd post-apocalyptic setting sometime in the future after some type of nuclear war has left the world in ruins.
The movie focuses on the character of Eli (Denzel Washington) who has set out on a quest to carry the last known remaining Bible in the world west. Eli doesn’t really know why he must head west other than a call from a seemingly higher existence; his faith in this calling carries him through the challenges that beset him. Meanwhile, Carnegie (Gary Oldman) wants the Bible for his own selfish purposes and will sacrifice everything and everyone to get it.
The Road Warrior meets Sunday’s sermon. Don’t get me wrong – I thought it was an interesting movie, but if you expect back-to-back action then you might come away disappointed. While the movie has some nice action scenes and Denzel Washington kicks a fair amount of butt, the pace of the movie really slows down in some places. A friendly warning (although the title should give it away), the movie definitely has a lot of religious connotations.
Gary Oldman returns to the role of the villain in this movie and does his normal good job of playing the demented bad guy. Denzel does a nice job of playing action-hero good guy though to be honest, I think the character of Solara (Mila Kunis) turns out to be the most interesting of the bunch as she begins to learn about what it means to believe in something that is intangible.
In the end, if you can handle a decent dose of religion thrown in with your action and fight scenes, then I think you will come away enjoying this one. If you are looking for a typical action film, then you might want to wait till this one comes out on DVD.
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