The Book of Eli (2010)

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot of fun.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The Book of Eli has an interesting ring to it that makes the viewer think one thing when the meaning is something else entirely. The Book of Eli is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic film with a very neo-Western, action, dram ties to it. Directed by the Hughes brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington (Eli), Gary Oldman (Carnegie), Mila Kunis (Solara), Ray Stevenson (Redridge), and Jennifer Beals (Claudia). The story itself is creative and resonates around Eli, a nomad in world ripped apart by nuclear war. We come to find out he travels because he feels it is his destiny and a voice says a path will be laid out for him to deliver a book. The history of the post-war world is explained along the way, as is the importance of Eli's task. He is a warrior, a voice of the voiceless and will stop at nothing along the way to bring the book to where he feels it belongs. Tremendous performances from Denzel and Gary Oldman. The editing was a little choppy in places but does not take away from the story. The film relishes in it's pivotal message as to do more for others than you do for yourself. All in all a good film for it's length and pace. I give it a solid 7 out of 10

MASTERFULLY SHOT, BOTH VISUAL AND SOUND. CATCHING THE MOST ORIGINAL APOCALYPTIC FEELING WITH THE LIGHTING, COLOURS, NOTHINGNESS, EMPTYNESS, DARKNESS AND POVERTY. CHOOSING THE BEST ACTORS POSSIBLE, WITH ROLES PLAYED BY DENZEL WASHINGTON, GARY OLDMAN AND MILA KUNIS. ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL STORIES THAT NEED TO BE USED MORE OFTEN IN MOVIES, WITH A PLOT ENDING THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANNA SMILE FOR HOW GOOD THAT MOVIE WAS. THE ONLY FLAW-the only flaw in my opinion was the pace of the movie. At some points the movie was to slow for my standards.

I just love Mila Kunis. This movie is about an apocalyptic future, where only the strongest is going to survive. Every single book can be rarely finded and the one man is keeping the only copy of Holly Book with himself. Ofcourse, in this situation, where the human rase is nearly to be extinguished, every place is full of outlaws, killers and rival gangs. One of their leaders is Gary Oldman with his ruthless female bodyguard Mila Kunis. Gary's time is nearly to be overed, because organized criminal groupes can't be loyal in their own rangs, if there isn't the only one "Charlie" which stands for name of the Queen and Country. Frankly, I don't believe in sacrament of church, but I can say that in some hand, I'm a believer. I have to say that I don't prefer the law, but the order, because that is the only thing which matters in civilized countries of today. Sincerelly yours Dushan Petrovich, The Goblins, Red Star sport club from Belgrade, Serbia.

The Book of Eli features a post-apocalyptic wanderer and his treasured book. In fact, Eli's book turns out to be a rarity and the object of some envy and contention. Eli enters a town run by the despotic Carnegie. Carnegie wants the book to gain power and control people. When one of his henchman questions how a book can have such effect, Carnegie yells: "It's not an effing book; it's a weapon!" Eli, similarly, comes to objectify the book, albeit not as a weapon.At one key point in the film, Eli confesses to his co-traveler, Solara: "All these years I've been carrying it...I forgot to live what I learned from it." From the juxtaposition of Carnegie's and Eli's conceptions of the book, it's possible to surmise that the Hughes brothers want at least to communicate the point that ultimately this book is only as good or as bad as the people who use it. That's not a bad takeaway.This film features a great deal of clever interplay with the book, its contents, and the possessors of the book. In fact, this film does "inter-texting" like no other.It's all there in the double-meaning of the movie's title: The Book of Eli.In the most obvious sense, the "of" in "book OF Eli" is possessive. It's the physical book that Eli possesses, reads, memorizes, carries, protects.At the same time, because he has carried the book for so long (30 years!) he has had time to learn its entire contents by heart. In this sense, Eli has become the book, he IS the book. (Grammatically speaking, here the "of" in The Book of Eli functions as a genitive of apposition.) The double meaning of the book "OF" Eli sets up the ironic ending of the film. It also helps you understand the evolution of Solara, who begins as an unread novice but evolves into a book of her own.Perhaps there will be a sequel: "The Book of Solara"?