Movie: The Book of Eli
My Rating: 2 1/2 bites [out of 5]
In Short: Sporting strong visuals, solid characters, and the occasional jaw-dropping action scene, The Book of Eli is, in part, worth catching. Story-wise, however, it doesn’t quite live up to its promising set-up... [full review after the jump]
Full Review: I was talking to my crazy movie-buff friend recently, and we both agreed that the toughest films to critique aren’t the great ones (easy as pie: you just lay on the praise) or even the really bad ones (even easier: lay on the snark and complaining), but, actually, the ones in between. The types of movies that fall squarely in the middle—not finessed enough to be a good movie, and not a complete waste of time like a bad one.
The Book of Eli is such a movie. It’s well-acted, beautifully shot (the desert landscapes have a desolate, haunted look that works perfectly for the film), and, for the most part, quite entertaining. I just can’t fully recommend it, despite its preposterous—but “wow”-inducing!—final twist.
The basic story follows Denzel Washington’s drifter, Eli—a soft-spoken heroic type who’s got a killer way with a sword. He owes a great deal to old-time epic Western imagery—he’s the mysterious stranger, the broken man with a good heart, essentially the Man with No Name, albeit with insane martial-arts abilities. It’s been 30 years since the movie’s mysterious “blackout”, and all this time Eli has been walking in the ruins of North America—an endless mass of empty space, dead bodies, and hiding cannibals. He’s headed to some destination, as we learn, which brings him to a somewhat-functioning town led by Gary Oldman’s Carnegie. Carnegie then discovers that Eli possesses a special book, the very one he’s been waiting ages to find, and, from that point on, ensues the film’s central chase, with Carnegie’s step-daughter, Solara (played by the gorgeous Mila Kunis—yay for fellow Ukrainians!) falling into the mix as Washington’s “disciple”.
I can’t reveal what that book is, but, really, you might have figured it out through the film’s not-so-subtle billboards. I like the basic idea behind the movie, as well as the different reasons it presents for wanting the book—one man wants it for controlling his people, the other for its inherent power and beauty. End-of the-world thrillers are an easy sell for me too—I love the imagery involved, as well as seeing what people are reduced to faced with a world without hope and the slow, steady death of the human race. The Book of Eli works on that level, adding some interesting observations into the equation, like the types of resources that become luxuries and, in a grand scale, the rewards of faith (even if it’s not in a spiritual sense). There’s also good character work and fine performances from all three leads. Washington pretty much owns the market for playing noble, good-hearted men, especially ones put against opposing odds—he does that here with confidence and a light touch of humor. Ditto for Oldman, although from the polar opposite perspective. The chameleonic Brit is a long-time favorite of mine, especially in scene-stealing-villain mode like The Professional and True Romance. The script gives his Carnegie just the right amount of sleaze and intelligence, granting the actor enough juicy material to chew his way through the scenes with Washington. As for Kunis, while far too beautiful and clean-looking be a believable member of this society (her entrance in a rowdy bar, where she’s supposed to be an abused hooker, still screams “movie star”), she holds her own with her imposing co-stars. Coupled with her lovely turn in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, she’s clearly on the rise, and I think we’ll see a lot more good work from her in the future.
The action sequences are impressive as well. Directed by the Hughes Brothers (Menace 2 Society, the Johnny Depp thriller, From Hell), these scenes are shot with an in-your-face urgency and excitement that you don’t often see in big-budget blockbusters. There’s no shaky camera work—just some great stunt work and, of course, slice-and-dice choreography, perfectly showcased in the opening fight with Eli and a group of hoodlums.
Where the film stumbles, though, is in its overall story arcs. It’s set up to be a big ideological clash between Washington and Oldman—two of our finest actors going head-to-head on the movie’s main conflict. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really happen. The launching pad is there, but the execution is lacking, reducing itself to just a few argument scenes between Eli and Carnegie and one big shoot-em-up. Similarly, Washington’s relationship with Kunis, which takes up the second half of the film, ends up being largely incomplete. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the movie—I didn’t buy that she learned so much from Eli (how long were they even traveling? 2 days??), nor that his words had such profound effects on her. It may have been helped by more screen time, but, in whole, Solara’s journey—and its ultimate payoff—feels unearned. I appreciate that the script tried to give these people depth; I can usually forgive plot flaws if the characters and the experiences they go through are well-developed. We have that here to an extent, but it feels like the heroes changed because the script said they had to, and not because they had an organic reason to do so.
But what about that twist? Ah, that I wouldn’t dare spoil. It’s creative and bold, even if it doesn’t entirely make sense. Does it make The Book of Eli worth seeing? Well, not entirely, but it still ranks among the best surprises I’ve seen recently. It’s infinitely better that the typical horror-movie “shocking twist”—it works for the story, rewards you for picking up on some clues, and, even though it smudges “realism” in favor of “gotcha!” awesomeness, it makes for a top-notch kicker to the movie.
So, as you can see, I wouldn’t qualify this as a particularly bad film. It’s just mediocre—capable of more, but its problems prevent it from being much stronger, especially given its premise and the caliber of its cast and behind-the-scenes talent. Of the movies out right now, this is one the better ones, though I suspect some standbys and upcoming releases will strip it of that title. In the end, I’d call it a great rental—on the small screen, and watching comfortably from your own couch, the movie’s faults will be easier to swallow and you could probably enjoy the film’s accomplishments (ie, the acting, cinematography, the clever clues to the finale) with much more enthusiasm.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
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