Decades after a nuclear war that changed the world forever, a survivor named Eli travels across the desert-like country that once was the United States to reach the West Coast. As he makes a pit stop in a town, the leader named Carnegie becomes suspicious of Eli as he is certain that he carries what is perhaps the last copy of the Bible, which Carnegie can use to his advantage over the uneducated population. Joined by Carnegie's adoptive daughter, Solara, the two run to survive the ruthless survivors and hope to deliver the Bible to a place that will use it for good. Although the plot allows for some fun action sequences, a good portion of the film focuses on the world-building and how society works now in this post-apocalypse. There are quite a few scenes that allow the characters to breath and have a moment, some of which lack dialogue. The tone is more serious and a bit grounded rather than over-the-top, as it wants this dystopia to be more believable than others we have seen in various media. There's very little comedy and tries to keep its gritty nature, which succeeds tremendously. This might be an issue for those that want a more fun, action-packed rollercoaster, which I don't mind at all since I like when these films tend to be mellow in its narrative.
Denzel Washington plays a very Idris-Elba looking Eli, who is an intellectual, calm yet skilled fighter that is one of the last morally good people in this new world. He seems to be the only one that hangs on to his humanity, while dispatching those who are savage in nature. Washington is great as always, though I have noticed how he seems to play these types of roles, which I enjoy since he brings down-to-earth attitude and charisma that makes him so likeable. Gary Oldman plays Carnegie, the leader of a town in pursuit of the Bible as he wants to control the people and have himself be worshipped like a prophet. Not only does he have a great motive as the antagonist, but Oldman plays the character like a mob boss with confidence, power, and intimidation, which makes Carnegie a well-written villain which could have been easily messed up. Mila Kunis plays Solara, Eli's companion who escapes the town to avoid Carnegie's wrath and learns about Eli's belief in faith. Even though I always loved her voice acting in "Family Guy", I can never get used to Kunis as an actress onscreen. She does fine in the role, though I felt that the character felt really unneeded in the story as she never felt truly important, outside of her discovering Eli's Bible and reporting back to Carnegie. Side characters include Claudia, Solara's blind mother, the old cannibal couple that Eli takes shelter with, and Lombardi, a man trying to preserve the lost arts such as literature and music, who is played by Malcom McDowell. The side character are not very memorable or much of a factor to the film, but it's mainly our protagonist and antagonist that carry the film and keeps us engaged in the story.
The directing is thanks to the Hughes Brothers, which happens to be the last collaboration before they parted ways for their own solo careers. It's a shame, since the two clearly work much better together rather than alone and the film shows their efforts. The world presented is almost like the Old West, where it's mainly a dusty, desert landscape with barely any plant-life, while the population mainly sticks together in small towns. The lighting makes this world very grey, bright and somewhat lifeless, which is very fitting for the tone and setting, as well as the survivors have to wear sunglasses due to the sun being able to cause blindness if exposed. It's ugly and unappealing, but that's the direction of it. It's not like "Mad Max", where the colours are oversaturated and the world looks kind of pretty to live in, it's trying to pull off the opposite effects in great success. The cinematography by Don Burgess is great, as it helps capture this world as well as creating some nice looking shots and sequences. The action sequences are the best example of how Burgess does a fantastic job as cinematography, which is helped by the editing that's while mostly pretty good, it can be a tad amateur and messy. The score by the Ross Brothers is fine for what it is, though it won't last in your memory. The pacing however is not the strongest, since the film feels much longer than it really is, despite the events of the story being rather quick to list off and told. This could be due to the scenes that allow characters to breath and relax, though I doesn't personally annoy me. The last thing to mention is the twist where it's revealed that Eli is actually partially blind the whole time. The film does give you clues in the character of Eli and his quirks, but not everyone is going to buy this element. This is due to how Eli seems to kick a lot of ass throughout the film, dispatching men left and right, and yet one is supposed to believe that he was blind the entire time. It also can be seen as a pointless twist by some, since it's only really relevant in the plot to Carnegie losing, since the Bible is written in Braille, which wouldn't matter if Eli was blind or not, given the years he survived and memorized the contents of the Bible to begin with.
"The Book Of Eli" is not for everyone. The tone is perhaps too serious for some to get into, action sequences are spread out throughout the runtime by slow pacing, the side characters are forgettable, Kunis as Solara is not engaging or even necessary in the film, and the twist that Eli was blind might make people laugh or get angry over. However, there is so many good things in this film. The story is well-executed for the most part, Eli and Carnegie are great characters portrayed by amazing actors, the setting is creative and visually interesting, the direction by the Hughes Brothers is really good, and the action sequences are fun to watch thanks to great editing and cinematography. If you just want to see a fun action film with one-liners and excitement, this is probably not going to satisfy you. If however, you are craving a post-apocalyptic setting with engaging characters, story beats, and stylized brutal action, this might be what you're looking for.
Verdict: 8/10. Not perfect, but the great qualities alone make it my second favourite post-apocalyptic sci-fi film after "I Am Legend".
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