After a big disaster of global scale there are always people who survive it. At least that we learn from movies like The Road , I Am Legend (which I gave a 6 ) and Waterworld. Of course this is almost necessary as it will become pretty hard to make an interesting movie (although the movie 9 managed to do it (which I gave a 7)). The Book of Eli also gives its vision on what a post apocalyptic world might look like.
Denzel Washington is Eli, a man who has been walking around the remains of America. His goal is to reach the west coast (it’s notable this was also the case in The Road). During it he meets others that try to rob him. Fortunately Eli knows how to fight and this results in a number of very good fight scenes (which Washington performs himself) which have been shot in an excellent way.
After while he ends up in a little town where the viewer is introduced to Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who is looking for a specific book. He has a suspicion that Eli has this book. Eli meets Solara (Mila Kunis) there and the two end up leaving the town together.
The idea behind the movie is that knowledge means power and that this is the foundation for rebuilding society.
It’s a very interesting idea, but unfortunately the result is not shown, something which I was expecting. I would have liked to see what happened after Eli finally finishes his long journey. The movie does hint at it, but to me that wasn’t enough.
Something that also disappointed me was the look of the movie. Even though it is set in a post apocalyptic world everything somehow looked too clean or just nog right. An example are the fast-moving clouds, which feel so unnatural that you immediately know it’s something that has been added in post production. It’s a feeling I did not have when I watched The Road and unfortunately something which took me out of the world instead of pulling me in. You shouldn’t notice things like that when you are watching a movie.
When I compare the movie with The Road i can say that the Book of Eli is more action oriented. The movie has some exciting action scenes that were able to wake up the action fan in me.
If you are looking for an action movie, then this is not the movie you should watch (From Paris with Love is the movie you should watch then), but if you do not mind a bit more background to the story then the Book of Eli is enjoyable.
Score: 7