The Book of Eli has an interesting story, but is lacking a few chapters of excellence

By Cody Klyne
The Book of Eli features a Denzel
Washington in a fantastic role that takes
movie-goers on a blood-soaked journey
across.a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Blending the lone ranger attitude
reminiscent of a 1960s lawman with the
dystopian morality of a character from
Mad Max, Washington does a good job
of rendering the venerable Eli ina world
‘consumed by desperation. That said,
as admirable a job Washington does
with what he’s been given, character
development remains one of the
primary flaws that lie at the root of what
makes The Book of Eli, just an average
experience.

In a not-too-distant future populated

by marauders, cannibals, rapists, and
opportunists, Eli is “gifted” with being
in possession of the last-known Bible.
Driven by faith and guided by a divine
voice, Eli is determined to complete his
mission against all odds and, inexplicably,
deliver the book to safety in the West.
Not long into the journey, Eli
comes across a start-up town controlled
by a surprisingly educated man named
Carnegie, who just so happens to have
ideas of his own, nefarious as they may
be, for the use of the Bible in this new
world. Portrayed by Gary Oldman,
Carnegie acts as a satisfactory, two-
dimensional force working against Eli.
As the story progresses, their butting of
heads eventually leads to some of the
more interesting twists and concepts that,

though delivered a little heavy-handedly,
develop surrounding the message of the
power and abuse of religion.

Although the setting, moments
of originality, and over the top action
set pieces may carry the film for some;
missed opportunities to round out the
world and its inhabitants consistently
break any sense of immersion. A
primary example of this is the abysmal
performance from the miscast Mila
Kunis as the barmaid Solara. Having
played the part of damsel in distress on
more than one occasion, Kunis’ character
seems to exist solely for the purpose of
clumsily attempting to inject a sense
of humanity in Eli. This, coupled with
lifeless emotional outbursts and ridiculous
moments of uncharacteristic bravado,

made Kunis the final link in the overall
chain of middling execution that seems to
characterize the movie from start to finish.
Granted, standing toe-to-toe with an actor
the calibre of Washington doesn’t do her
any favours.

At best, the successful use of
setting, atmosphere, gore-saturated
choreography and not-entirely-overdone
social commentary made The Book of Eli
a refreshing addition to the catalogue of
post-apocalyptic action flicks. While the
opting out of the heavy use of exposition
to fill in plot gaps is generally a good rule
to follow, raising more questions than
answers, it seems like more than a few
bibles were lost to the wastes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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