Denzel Washington - Religious samurai in a post-apocalyptic world

The consensus on the Book of Eli (a friend went to see it with us) seems to be a MEHHH rating. There isn’t really much to say about this movie (X does a short review of it below), but it does present an opportunity to discuss the rating. Movies with MEHHH ratings are largely mediocre. They may have above average elements such as the acting, action sequences or interesting plot twists, but they lack anything that stands out and leaves a lasting impression. It may also have serious flaws like gaping plot holes and dialogue you'd find on the back of cereal boxes, but they also aren’t bad enough to make you angry and want to start ranting. All in all they’re distinguished for only their inability to elicit any strong emotional and intellectual response. You can see it to pass the time, but if you don’t you’re not missing much (except maybe the ability to make obscure movie references at dinner parties in five years and have people nod approvingly at your supposedly amazing movie repertoire, aka your shot at becoming the next Quentin Tarantino).

I just want to share a few thoughts before getting to X’s review. A large number of people were upset with the overly religious theme and tone of the movie. I think they’re adopting a much too literal interpretation. Eli is about as preachy in this movie as Samuel L. Jackson is in Pulp Fiction. I think it’s more about faith and the ways people hold onto hope when the world is crumbling around them, one of which (probably the most popular) is religion.

Also, and this is completely unrelated to the movie itself… I have to say, today was one of the worst movie-going experiences I have ever had. Many self-righteous pricks in the theater felt the need to tell others (including once to me personally) to “shut the hell up” during the movie. Putting aside for a minute the debate about the acceptable amount and volume of speaking during a movie, allow me to mock the stupidity of the tactics these people use. Why some people feel that shouting and cursing at others, instead of asking them politely to be quiet, would be more effective at bringing about silence is absolutely beyond me. Anyway, here is a brief review:

Book of Eli – MEHHH

From the trailer, it seems like Book of Eli is a pretty straightforward action movie.  You see an idiot touch Eli (played by a badass Denzel Washington), Eli tells the idiot “you put that hand on me again and you won’t get it back.”  Then the idiot touches him again… and, surprise surprise, the idiot didn’t get his hand back.  Well, despite what you saw, we’ve seen the movie, and we’re here to tell you that this is NOT that kind of movie.  In fact, maybe it’ll be better if it were.

In my opinion, the movie suffers from the fact that it tries to take religion in an apocalyptic world too seriously.  In one scene, Eli would be a coldblooded warrior who will kill his enemies without any mercy, and then in another, he’d be a highly religious man who memorized the bible.  It makes me wonder, if he’s so into religion, doesn’t God say “Thou shalt not kill?”  Shouldn’t he have some mercy, even to his enemies?  But then again, I don’t go to church, so what do I know about religion?

In terms of actors’ performances, Denzel Washington was good as always, but the actor who really stood out in this movie was Gary Oldman (he played the villain, Carnegie).  The only movie that I’ve seen with Gary Oldman was his role as Commissioner Gordon in “The Dark Knight”, and I didn’t see a trace of Gordon in Carnegie – whereas Gordon was honest and righteous, Carnegie was downright evil.

I really don’t have anything else to say about the movie.  It was just… MEHHH…. It wasn’t a great movie, but it wasn’t bad either.  There are many other good movies in the theaters these days, and unless you’ve seen them all, I’d recommend that you watch something else (Daybreakers was really good) and save this as a last resort.

***New Section***
Genre: Action/Adventure, Post-apocalyptic, Western

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