Le livre d'Élie

Upon first viewing the trailer I was immediately giddy to see a new post-apocalyptic film in the vein of The Road Warrior. Being a fan of the genre, one must get used to the repetitive "lone wanderer" theme so prominently used. I figured this film would go through the same formula, but prepared to enjoy myself.

Yes it did use the lone wanderer as a driving plot device, and yes it did bring the arbitrary twist. Yes all the survivors are short on t-shirts, but live in a wealth of leather and goggles. Yes everything in this film looks like and feels like a typical post-apocalyptia. But the substance of the story is far more powerful then I could ever have expected.

Without giving away too much, yes the film is essentially a Christian metaphor. Eli seems to be protected by some mysterious force, guided by "God" to head west. But it's what the meaning behind this admittedly bizarre plot that makes this film so great. It truly is a film about faith and believing in one's self. Using the dreary post-apocalyptic backdrop, the film is able to contrast this powerful message with the harsh landscape. Even amidst such despair, one can rise and accomplish anything. In a world slowly becoming apocalyptic itself, this message is much welcomed.

The other aspects lending to the power of The Book of Eli are its technical aspects. The cinematography is simply beautiful. Moody slo-mo shots abound with wonderfully toned colors. Everything looks dark and dead, the sun beating down endlessly on the dusty dunes. The soundtrack adds immensely to this feeling, using soft ambient chords and blasting action-scene drums when necessary. Overall The Book of Eli is an excellent film itself and an excellent spin on the post-apocalyptic genre.

Oh yeah, and Denzel Washington actually manages to pull off the part of a wizened, old bad ass.

Thirty years after a man-made apocalypse, Eli (Denzel Washington) hikes westward on a quest across the vast American interior--a dark and dusty scape. He encounters a number of people who survive at the expense of others. In a small town, he is captured by a local despot named Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who makes him an offer. Being a loner, Eli prefers to go his own way, but he may not have a choice.

"The Book of Eli" is a stylish film that is reminiscent of "I Am Legend" and other post-apocalyptic stories, though it carves out a niche for itself due to its strong characters and its central theme.

The film presents some religious sub-themes, which might find differing interpretations by different viewers.

I found the ending a little disappointing, but I think others may enjoy the twists in the final scenes. Mila Kunis plays a strong character--a young woman whose life undergoes a transition under the influence of Eli.

In a very short space of time two post-apocalyptic films have been release, the brilliant The Road which is aiming for Oscar glory, and the action packed The Book of Eli which is appealing for the mass audience.

30 years after a massive war which blow a hole in the sky, possibly a nuclear war, Eli (Denzel Washington) is a lone traveller heading to the West Coast of America. He is a skilled martial artist, armed with guns, a long knife and a bow and is carrying the last King James Bible. On the way he has to avoid and kill hijackers and cannibals. On his travel Eli has to stop off in a ramshackle of a town to buy water and recharge his gear. The town itself run on a barter economy. The leader of the town, Carnegie (Gary Oldman), was impressed by Eli's skill and even more impressed when he found out he can read. Carnegie offer's the traveller a place in his gang. But when Carnegie finds out Eli has the Bible he ends up searching for Eli. The Bible would give Carnegie the ideological based to strengthen his position and expand his power base. Eli goes on the run, hoping to go West and is joined by a young girl Solara (Mila Kunis). He teaches Solara about the Bible and religion and why it is important he goes west.

The best thing about the film is the action. It was slick, stylist, well-edited and at times a fine long fixed shots. There are brilliant moments with the way the camera goes through buildings, and follows the action. The Hughes Brothers have good style as action directors, better then say Michael Bay or McG who throw everything at the camera.

The story is not that original, there are elements of likes like Mad Max 2 and 3, The Road and the Man With No Name trilogy. But there are interesting ideas, the use of religion as political ideology, the use of religion as political control and showing both the good and bad sides of faith. Most films only show one side of the other: but this does both and I can praise it for that. I think given a bit of fine tuning then this could have been a really good script.

As mentioned, the Hughes brothers have style as action directors, but they also filmed in a slightly washed out look, giving the film a more given a gritty, earthy feel. It doesn't camp it up like the third Max Mad film did. They pacing was good for the most part and allow you to get to the character as well as seeing the action. However some moments did drag the film and could have been sped up. Others just didn't fit, like the slightly comical scene with an elderly couple played by Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon. 10 to 15 minutes could have been cut.

Denzel Washington is possibly one of the coolest actors in the world. He was well cast as the protagonist, and since the character is a bit older then usual action hero Washington was the right age for the film. Gary Oldman does his use villainous role he is normally good at, look at his roles in True Romance, Leon, the Fifth Element and Air Force One. He gives his character a young Jack Nicholoson quality, though my brother said he reminded him of Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York. He was good as he normally is. However whilst Mila Kunis is easy on the eye, her performance was weak and wooden. She wasn't believable as a young girl looking for a way out and able to grow as a character. At least she has Family Guy to fall back on. Other smaller roles were also not as convincing as the lead roles.

This was a decent film, but there was room for improvement.

With the recent revival of the post-apocalyptic genre in Hollywood, it would be easy to overlook this film, and that would be a mistake. Thirty years from now the world is a barren, desolate wasteland filled with the charred remains of a civilization that destroyed itself through war. In this bleak future a lone man wanders west (Denzel Washington), guided by nothing more than faith, to deliver the last remaining copy of a book that changed the world, and will do so again. While Washington seeks to deliver the book to those who would do good with it, a local warlord (Gary Oldman), an erudite student of Mussolini, wants to possess the book so he can use the words to sway the masses and become a powerful dictator. The characters are very well acted, the action is fluid and well choreographed, and the setting seeps into your skin, immersing the viewer in a world devoid of faith but in desperate need of salvation. The final plot twist is creative, unexpected, and poetically just. The Book of Eli should shoot to the top of your Netflix queue.

Everybody's talking about what happens after the apocalypse these days. "The Book of Eli" is sort of the boiling point of this science-fiction concept, a combination of last year's "The Road" and George Miller's "The Road Warrior." America is a post-apocalyptic wasteland and Denzel Washington is the only self-sufficient badass. So originality is not exactly "Eli's" calling card, but it clearly establishes its ruinous world and the Hughes brothers ("From Hell") take good care of its characters while supplying top-notch action. Washington stars as our stolid protagonist, Eli, journeying westward with his canteen, a large machete, a couple guns and a special leather-bound book. He lives on an Earth that was fried 30 years before by the sun because of a war that ripped a hole through the ozone layer. Sun-goggled bikers run amok pillaging, killing and raping passers-by, yet Eli is morally sound and focused on keeping his book safe no matter what so he can deliver it somewhere out west. Although written by a first-time screenwriter and former PC Gamer editor, Gary Whitta, "Eli" impressively creates its world between the sunglasses/goggles due to the sun's power, trading of goods because money's obsolete and the constant examining of hands to determine if someone is jittery from eating too much human flesh. Whitta also places Eli squarely in the story. He's a good but dangerous man who's not afraid to kill, and as he sits idly by as a couple gets attacked, it's abundantly clear that this is a world where compassion is secondary to survival and self-interest. Where the plot comes in is "Eli's" weak link. It doesn't try too hard to hide just what exactly the book is and that sort of dissolves some of the film's mystique. The plot is essentially Eli wants to protect it and take it west and he has a run in with Carnegie (Gary Oldman), an older man who runs a small town and desires it for selfish power-related reasons. Along the way, anyone who threatens to lay a hand on Eli gets sliced up or shot. In the two or three fight scenes where he takes down numerous guys at once, you can't help but wonder why after he kills the first few guys, the others don't run the hell away, especially considering people are otherwise in self-preservation mode living in a wasteland (and they know nothing of the book). The Hughes brothers make those scenes worthwhile, however. There's a style and grace to their action scenes -- they create a sort of a moving tableau in some scenes and execute a wide range of tempos in the action sequences to make them more intense. When Carnegie's men encounter Eli and the young woman (Mila Kunis) that he inspires who follows him at the home of some old folks (cameos by famous Brits Frances De La Tour and Michael Gambon), they place the camera in the middle of the action and sweep along with the gunfire (part- digitally) from one side to the other. It's very cool and is an example of one way the Hugheses keep the focus away from the plot's shaky skeleton. I only have beef with their excessive slow-motion walking-toward-the-camera shots and showing a bit too much of the cloudy green-gray sky. Some people are going to be more surprised and impressed with the film's big reveal than others, but anyone with a love of action and that post-apocalyptic context will find something to make "Eli" a worthwhile watch regardless of plot weakness. Washington is slightly under-utilized but he's an ideal fit. He brings an intensity in his demeanor that makes him an intriguing character and the film does a good job of making his character more central than anything else. ~Steven C