The Book of Eli

It seems as if there are more good ideas out there than good writing. You'd like to believe the two could go hand in hand, yet this isn't always (read: rarely) the case. Some writers are gifted with devising brilliant ideas, but when pen needs to be put to paper, there is a failure in communication. The brain does not supply the proper words, the words that would flesh a brilliant idea into a brilliant script, leaving a good idea ruined. The same goes for good writers, who know the craft inside and out, yet have trouble finding anything decent to write about. I don't know what the case was with The Book of Eli, but there was certainly a breakdown somewhere in there.

The Hughes Brothers latest film, their first since 2001's From Hell, starts out promising, but by the end credits, you can't help but feel a little disappointed. We meet the title character, Eli, played by the always great Denzel Washington, who is a loner, a man that keeps to himself and likes it that way. When post-apocalyptic thugs try and steal from him, though, he slices them to pieces without so much as breaking a sweat. It's an incredible sight to behold, especially if you are a fan of quick, brutal violence...and why shouldn't you be? Yeah, why not, movie watcher? So begins a great idea, having a man protect something as simple as a book, gifted with ninja fighting skills and seems invulnerable to bullets. But then they had to go and fuck it all up at the end, with one of the dullest, most stretched out twists cinema has ever seen. Shyamalan wouldn't have let that shit happen (ignore The Happening. Or The Village. Or Signs.). This was an idea that had promise, but was poorly executed.

For the most part, the writing works until the ending. We get some interesting hints as to why the "apocalypse" happened, and some cool fight scenes. There is a tonally odd, but entertaining, shootout near the films finale that had me hopeful, but that was actually the last of anything good about The Book of Eli. After that, we get mini-twists hard not to see coming, and a lot of empty, pointless filler. The actors do what they can, and are the best part of the movie as a whole. Washington does a solid job leading, and Gary Oldman is a wonderful villain, even when all the villain wants is a book. Mila Kunis isn't given a lot to do, but she performs admirably for what she is given.

So in the end, what you have is just another post-apocalyptic movie that promises more than it delivers. Not to say The Book of Eli is a complete waste of your time, but not something you need to rush to see. Or watch all but that last five or ten minutes and call it good. No, that's not an actual suggestion, but I wish the Hughes Brothers thought about that while filming, or editing, the film. But what are you going to do? Wait for the next post-apocalyptic movie to hit theaters. Sounds good to me.

Genre - Action (2.25)

Screenplay - 2

Acting - 3

Production - 2

Directing - 2