The Book of Eli (2010)
Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis
Directed by The Hughes Brothers
You don't get too many big budget Hollywood films about religion these days...and The Book of Eli is ALL about faith. It may try and cover it up with gruesome killings, but in the end, it's all about religion and how it has the power to both inspire and corrupt.
We're several decades in the future and the Earth is in some type of an apocalyptic state. There are hints of a great war, but it's also obvious that the environment (with a sun so bright you've got to wear shades to avoid blindness) has changed as well. Eli (Denzel Washington) is a walker - a lone man who after hearing about a better land in the west longs to travel there. With his faith in guide and his bible -- the only bible left on the planet -- he sets off on his journey.
Along the way, Eli meets Carnegie (a scenery chewing Gary Oldman) who runs a small "Old West-type" town. Carnegie's only goal is to find a bible -- for he feels that having this book will allow him to gain as many followers as possible to go about performing his will. He's not a nice guy, and good man Eli knows this and must do whatever he can to keep the Bible out of Carnegie's possession.
The story's moderately successful, but it goes on for much too long. About thirty minutes in, I couldn't believe that there was still ninety minutes to go. It doesn't help that Oldman and Mila Kunis who plays (for all intents and purposes) his stepdaughter don't fare too well acting-wise here. Oldman's Carnegie is nothing but a Old West villain stereotype and Kunis just isn't a very good actress (here's hoping Darren Aronofsky can bring something good out of her in his next flick).
Some people are fans of the 300-esque nearly constant green screen backdrops, but they annoy the hell out of me and the Hughes Brothers employ them quite a bit here. While it's not incessant, it's unnecessary. If I wanted a comic book feel, I'd read comic books. Some of the fight scenes they shot were choreographed quite nicely, but they never once felt the least bit believable. Maybe they weren't going for "real," but despite looking neat, they came off as silly.
Still, this isn't a bad film, it's just an average one. Denzel is certainly good and a re-watch of his performance would probably lead to even more nuances that I didn't notice the first time around -- that's a hint at the moderately interesting "twist" to the film. But on the other hand, the film's twist makes certain elements seem even more ridiculous and unbelievable then they already appeared.
The RyMickey Rating: C
except you don't read comic books. also this isn't an inception review oh wait that better be tomorrow
ReplyDeleteYes...I don't read comic books...I watch movies...And I don't want my movies to feel like I'm looking at comic books.
ReplyDeleteDespite that complaint, there was moment where Eli fought a bunch of guys under an overpass and we only see the killings through shadow. A comic book-esque moment that worked perfectly.
And I'm not sure you should hold your breath about that Inception review...a change of plans has come about. It's still possible, but uncertain at the moment.