The Book of Eli

This movie is one of his best he is a great actor his movies all ways leaves you guessing what is next wonderful man

Movie - 4.5 Ive never been much of a religious person. And when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought to myself, well, Denzel can be pretty bad ass, but this whole Christian vibe has me a bit iffy. I hope it doesnt end up feeling pretentious or anything. Thankfully, the Hughes Brothers and company managed to surprise me. After finally getting to see the film in theaters, I liked it a lot. The story takes place in a post-Apocalyptic future where Earth has been scorched by war into a barren wasteland and humanity has degraded itself into packs of scavengers and nomads who kill, and even eat, each other just to survive. Enter Eli (Denzel Washington), a man on a mission traveling west to deliver what is apparently the very last copy of the King James Holy Bible. On his journey he comes across a man named Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who is looking for the very same book. But sensing the ill intentions in Carnegies plan to use it, Eli refuses to give up the book and must fight his way through with the help of a young girl, Solara (Mila Kunis). Thematically speaking, the movie itself isnt so much about Christianity (like I was afraid it would be), but the power of faith and the implied applicability of religion. Being an atheist, I always found it irksome that religion was so misinterpreted and taken out of context and that people were so vehement about it that I decided to stop believing in it altogether. In The Book of Eli, however, I find it refreshing that they can offer such a bold perspective on what it really means to follow in what you believe. Religion was never about which god is the right one or where it all originally started. It was simply about learning, finding something to believe in, possibly teaching and passing it down, and proceeding to pursue those beliefs with your own conviction. Mix bits and pieces of that with some stunning action sequences and a great cast of opposing actors and youve got a pretty good film. By the way, dont let the premise and symbolic inclination fool you. While I, personally, found the quasi-theological undertones enlightening, its still choreographed by Jeff Imada (most famous for the Bourne films), so take from that what you will. Sci-fi actioners with a message -- gotta love em. Video - 5.0 I remember seeing this in theaters and thinking that the film quality had a peculiar darkness to it. I was hoping the photography would present itself a little better on BD, and I was right. The movie is very desaturated (as briefly touched upon in the extras) and doesnt have much vibrancy at all until the end of the film. Something like 50-70% of the color scheme was intentionally made to almost monochromatic or like a black and white picture. But in exchange for that drabness, black levels and contrast have an amazing amount of depth and clarity. A lot of the backgrounds were digitally shot or painted and incorporated into the filming and it really, really shows in this transfer. You can see all sorts of fine detail from the little grains of sand in the ground or blowing through the air, the individual follicles and oil reflections from Elis beard, the dirt and grime on peoples faces, skin wrinkles and imperfections, notches and kinks in metallic structures, you name it. Backgrounds look especially bleak and reflect the mood of the production design well with ominous cloud cover and very low lighting. Getting back to the black levels, these are among the best Ive seen on BD to date. In the scene where Eli fights off the thugs in the underpass you can see his silhouette perfectly, but even better, still make out individual shapes and textures in his clothes and backpack despite the darkness of the tunnel. And best of all, theres very little noise in any of the dark or low-lit scenes. Ive never seen anything so immaculately black. Furthermore, black levels make for some great scenic shots that help to compliment the brooding nature of the film itself. One of my favorite shots in the movie (from an aesthetic viewpoint anyway) is when Eli is walking on the destroyed overpass with the camera looking at him from below. Something about the angle of the shot and obvious aftermath of what the wars did to the world is frightening to think about, but at the same time very cool sci-fi stuff. Theres very little to complain about in this video transfer, if anything at all, outside of your own personal preference for coloring. What a great effort by WB on this one. Audio - 5.0 The Book of Eli is an a word - aggressive. From the opening forest sequence we get a steady dose of ambient bass as the camera pans across displaying the state of the world and result of our own destruction via the war that ended civilization. The wind howls eerily along the front sound stage right before Eli shoots his arrow into his soon-to-be dinner as a somewhat jarring thump emanates from the bow. Were then introduced to some of the films score with an ethereal-sounding piece composed by Atticus Ross during the flash of the movies title. Afterward, Eli comes upon an abandoned house looking to seek shelter as he kicks the door in and produces an even more jarring LFE. As he searches the house, all the little creaks and cringes of the old wood spread and separate amongst the front and rears. When he settles down for the night, his mp3 player gives us a little of Al Greens How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, a soothing piece of soul thats definitely a contrast to the world Eli lives in, but makes for a good listen once we get to hear a part of it in full lossless surround. But if you want action, the underpass fight is where things start to make themselves heard. Reverberation is stunning when Eli steps back into the shadows and takes out each of those thugs with his samurai machete. Limbs get sliced and bodies impaled with bloody cold execution, while the chainsaw guy, despite his loud and powerful hardware, basically acts as a test dummy for a rather large blade. But the real highlight of this precision soundtrack is in the town shootout. Guns are fired from a multitude of heights and angles with absolutely zero music resulting in a very impressive display of directionality and dynamics as bullets fly from the right front to left rear, right rear to left front, and any number of combinations therein. Shots echo with deadly accuracy and is probably one of the best shootouts Ive heard in a while. The action then comes to a close during another big shootout at the old couples house. Here we get to hear a good amount of automatic weapons fire, a bomb, a bazooka, and a Gatling gun. Its a pretty awesome sound design. Extras - 4.0 We start off with Maximum Movie Mode as the movie plays itself like normal with bits and pieces of behind-the-scenes footage dispersed throughout and little Focus Points icons at certain parts. You push enter on your controller there and it takes you to a separate screen that breaks down whatever aspect theyre attempting to explain (usually in 3-4 minute segments). Its a big mix of production design, writing, filming, and commentary about what the cast and crew wanted to achieve in terms of literary themes, symbolism, and entertainment. I actually played the movie at 1.5x speed to make things a little faster but still slow enough to where I could re-watch the film itself while somewhat conserving time. And while the Focus Points can be accessed as a standalone feature (34 minutes worth, total), I still stand by the opinion that watching these during the movie itself adds a good deal of real-time context and perspective to the on-screen action, which is a very cool variation of the Picture-in-Picture track. Next is a 5-minute motion comic (A Lost Tale: Billy) that gives a little bit of background information on Carnegies childhood. Its short, but a good revelation and indicator as to the motivations we see in his current state during the movie. After that is a 13-minute feature (Starting Over) talking about some the storys themes, comparing that world to ours, and discussing the symbolism in what it means to truly start over from scratch. Elis Journey (about 18-minutes) analyzes the character of Eli himself the production of the film, the casting of Denzel, various collaborations and writing points, and the characters motivations. Both of these features are diced and served in parts throughout Maximum Movie Mode, but feel much more in-depth when watched as complete segments. And then finally is The Book of Eli Soundtrack, which shows a sit-down interview with composer Atticus Ross and co-director Allen Hughes. I was expecting this to delve more into theme composition or instrumentation, but it turned out to be just a session of praise from Hughes and a little bit of confirmation by Ross. Altogether, it amounts just over an hour of extras. Overall - 4.5 The Book of Eli is a movie that interests me a lot. I was never big on religion, but I like how this film in particular highlighted the context of religion, or faith in general, as a personal driving force rather than as a branch of organized control (which it seems more approximated to be nowadays). Its difficult to explain, though I can say its certainly given me something of a new perspective on things. Denzel Washington never ceases to amaze me, and it was a delight to see him opposite Gary Oldman. With a philosophical approach to society and civilization, but just the right balance of action, it made for a very entertaining movie. Add to that reference A/V quality and a healthy dose of extras, and The Book of Eli comes highly recommended.

D.W. was outstanding one of the best actors ever.

I never would have thought the Road Movie (Post Apocalypse type) could ever appeal to me, but through the storyline, Denzel Washingtons amazing handling of the character, and mind boggling pneumatically layered surprise ending, with an actual Judeo-Christian theological nuance (without slamming other religions), it was great. Gary Oldman being as weirdly weird as only he can be (extremely good actor) and a fascinating role for Jennifer Beals who plays a low key and very evocative role. If you hate post apocalyptic road films, but could imagine one being good, this one would be worth watching... but i think youd have to watch it with full attention, not while doing photoshop in another window, or doing house chores.... again, mind boggling surprise ending, or so i thought.

Pretty cool movie. I grew up with post apocalyptic movies and as a consumer of film since the 80s so I am quite anesthetized to movie violence and was certainly expecting it. ***Mild Spoilers*** Denzel is a man with a mission from on-high. I enjoyed the film, especially the bleak wastelands. There always has to be a highway scene where the hero walks past the all the dead cars and peers in at the skeletons and this movie didnt disappoint. Denzels dialogue is spare, but he makes up for it with sheer presence. Hes still looking pretty delicious too--more so--now that he is older. The fighting scenes were notable for not being over-the-top or over-long. Denzels technique could best be described as: efficient. Which is a plus for long-time movie fight watchers who are bitterly all too used to slowed frames, repeated impact glory shots and other martial art cheese that would not begin to transmit what a totally abrupt and brutal thing fighting can be--especially with weapons involved. But Eli is like a paladin on a quest who is clothed, shielded and armed in holy wrath. And so, he does not hesitate or play around when it comes to dispatching people but simply handles it--and keeps on walking. Portions of the ending were cleverly concealed and there is a moment of enlightenment, details of which I shall not go into. Recommended addition to any post apocalypse or Denzel movie collector.

I like the movie. There was a lot of action. Just the ending still throws me for a loop. I watched this movie like 3 times now. When I watch it its hard for me to grasp that he had that disability. Its a hard sell. Theres just no way he had that.

This film is told like a biblical story. A lone wanderer progresses through the vicious society that the world has become, intent on a mission that is gradually revealed to us. He is protected from the literal slings and arrows of those who would prey on him, but he is no passive penitent; instead he is more like a warrior monk with magical skills in the martial arts. The wanderer progresses, although no one else does, except for a young woman who insists herself into his company. Gary Oldman as Carnegie is the perfect wicked Biblical King, who is confronted at his end with the despair of his own Godless emptiness, his empire falling down around him. Eli is transformed into a kind of sainthood. At the very end is Elis prayer, which to me is an archetypal example of how one can converse with God. At times the movie lapses into excessive detail of dark scenarios, but so do some of the books of the Bible.

The Book of Eli is an excellent post-apocalyptic tale in a similar vein of Mad Max and the more recent The Road. In fact, I would recommend watching The Road and this in the same sitting, as they compliment each other. While Road is more realistic in terms of survival in that type of setting, Eli is the more adventurous and action oriented. Very fine performances of everyone involved, and Denzel skillfully plays a man with a very distinct mission at hand. This is one of the few movies by the very underrated Hughes Brothers (see From Hell with Johnny Depp to see what other excellent work they are capable of) and the first one they have done in a long time. There is a very distinct religious overtone to the movie, but if you read between the lines it leaves it to the viewer to decide if things happen due to pre-destination or by chance. Overall, I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys this type of subject matter,

This is more than just a movie, it is a message. To know the truth is to know the word of God. This movie puts that fact and many others into perspective. In a potential post appoctaliptic world Eli given a mission to carry the last bible to the place that God has ordained encounters events that would take the heart of all people without faith. Eli finaly completes his task having kept the word of God in his heart. The casting is wonderful and I could not imagine a leading cast both good and evil that better portray what the mission of Eli is. The photography is just a bit light on contrast for most of the movie but it plays well in a world close to hell. I have to mention the wonderful job that Mila Kunis did in her role. She plays a young woman who could not know the work of God, and has grown up in a world of the dammed yet she is blessed with love and goodness. Miss Kunis plays this most difficult role very convincingly and with great maturity.

Denzel Washington delivers another excellent performance in this post-Apocalyptic thriller where man appears as doomed as can be and one outlawed book which was destroyed, could help turn things around. Denzels character Eli, is said to be in possession of this book. Meanwhile criminal boss Gary Oldman hunts after Eli in pursuit of it. There are many tense moments and well done fight scenes to go along with the steady plot. This one doesnt move at the speed of light, but its quiet moments are key to the story for the development of the characters which is nice. I really enjoyed Washingtons portrayal here, as he is a man on a mission who honestly doesnt look for trouble but definitely accepts his tough situations and deals with them with a swift hand.