The Book of Eli (2010)
I'm sure the soul-crushing loneliness would set in after the first few hours, but sometimes I really would like the world to become a desolate, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Think about it- no queues, no chavs, no shitty Lloyd Webber musical poncefest on the T.V.- nothing. I'm not sure I'd be morally able to stave some poor bastard's head in with a rock just for some fresh water and his dog food stockpile, but I could give it a shot.
The Book of Eli is set 30 years after "The Flash"- an apocalyptic event that has changed civilisation forever. We follow the eponymous Eli (Denzel Washington) as he makes his way across the U.S. with a rare and much sought-after book. After hearing of this book, small town boss and shitbag extraordinaire, Carnegie (Gary Oldman) persues Eli in an effort to get his grubby little mitts on it. The story's alright, but not exactly taser-to-the-bollocks exciting. It's pretty much a Western that doesn't pretend black people don't exist. I liked Denzel Washington as Eli and it was good to see Gary Oldman play the baddie again after his friendly stints in the Batman and Harry Potter films. Mila Kunis bugged me, as I just knew she'd end up as Eli's talkative sidekick. Nothing wrong with her as an actress though, just her role as Solara. Oh- and there's an unusually subdued Tom Waits in there too.
The world presented in The Book of Eli is well thought out and decently presented. The wasteland setting is strangely beautiful (although very reminiscent of the video game Fallout 3) and the ideas about money and law are original. I loved the idea of KFC wet wipes being used as currency due to the unavailability of soap. The action scenes are solid too, with some decent knife fights and an amazingly shot shootout in and outside of a house. It's refreshing to be actually able to see fight choreography rather than the "zoomed in spastic camera" way of shooting action that seems to be the default after the Bourne films.
So, if the story's passable, the acting's good and there's some decent action to be found in it, why are there two measly stars at the bottom of this review? Well, it's the one permeating aspect that runs throughout The Book of Eli- religion. You'd have to be pretty thick not to guess which book Eli holds so dear to his heart. In the last 20 minutes, (after some nonsensical twists) the film turns into a boring sermon, preaching and patronising your face off under the loose guise of populist entertainment. It's fucking depressing to know that even a nuclear apocalypse won't stop the Bible bashers. As a result, the film as a whole smacked of religious propaganda rather than an entertaining film with spiritual elements. The film even hints that it was the lack of religion that caused everything to be toasted to a nuclear crisp, which genuinely angered me. Also, (Invisotexted) if The Book of Solara or some such shite gets made as the ending seems to promise, I will go on a kill-crazy rampage at Warner Bros. HQ with the jagged lid of a baked bean tin, slashing hither and thither before thanking them for The Dark Knight and turning it on myself. Or not bother seeing it. It's 50/50.
So, The Book of Eli then. It's alright but any good ideas displayed were dampened by the grotty, piss-soaked blanket that is Christianity. It just wasn't the film I wanted it to be after the strong opening. Disappointing.
I'm sure the soul-crushing loneliness would set in after the first few hours, but sometimes I really would like the world to become a desolate, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Think about it- no queues, no chavs, no shitty Lloyd Webber musical poncefest on the T.V.- nothing. I'm not sure I'd be morally able to stave some poor bastard's head in with a rock just for some fresh water and his dog food stockpile, but I could give it a shot."People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn't. We threw away things people kill each other now."
The Book of Eli is set 30 years after "The Flash"- an apocalyptic event that has changed civilisation forever. We follow the eponymous Eli (Denzel Washington) as he makes his way across the U.S. with a rare and much sought-after book. After hearing of this book, small town boss and shitbag extraordinaire, Carnegie (Gary Oldman) persues Eli in an effort to get his grubby little mitts on it. The story's alright, but not exactly taser-to-the-bollocks exciting. It's pretty much a Western that doesn't pretend black people don't exist. I liked Denzel Washington as Eli and it was good to see Gary Oldman play the baddie again after his friendly stints in the Batman and Harry Potter films. Mila Kunis bugged me, as I just knew she'd end up as Eli's talkative sidekick. Nothing wrong with her as an actress though, just her role as Solara. Oh- and there's an unusually subdued Tom Waits in there too.
The world presented in The Book of Eli is well thought out and decently presented. The wasteland setting is strangely beautiful (although very reminiscent of the video game Fallout 3) and the ideas about money and law are original. I loved the idea of KFC wet wipes being used as currency due to the unavailability of soap. The action scenes are solid too, with some decent knife fights and an amazingly shot shootout in and outside of a house. It's refreshing to be actually able to see fight choreography rather than the "zoomed in spastic camera" way of shooting action that seems to be the default after the Bourne films.
So, if the story's passable, the acting's good and there's some decent action to be found in it, why are there two measly stars at the bottom of this review? Well, it's the one permeating aspect that runs throughout The Book of Eli- religion. You'd have to be pretty thick not to guess which book Eli holds so dear to his heart. In the last 20 minutes, (after some nonsensical twists) the film turns into a boring sermon, preaching and patronising your face off under the loose guise of populist entertainment. It's fucking depressing to know that even a nuclear apocalypse won't stop the Bible bashers. As a result, the film as a whole smacked of religious propaganda rather than an entertaining film with spiritual elements. The film even hints that it was the lack of religion that caused everything to be toasted to a nuclear crisp, which genuinely angered me. Also, (Invisotexted) if The Book of Solara or some such shite gets made as the ending seems to promise, I will go on a kill-crazy rampage at Warner Bros. HQ with the jagged lid of a baked bean tin, slashing hither and thither before thanking them for The Dark Knight and turning it on myself. Or not bother seeing it. It's 50/50.
"I need that book, I want that book. I want you to stay, but if you make me have to choose, I'll kill you and take that book"
So, The Book of Eli then. It's alright but any good ideas displayed were dampened by the grotty, piss-soaked blanket that is Christianity. It just wasn't the film I wanted it to be after the strong opening. Disappointing.
1 comment:
Great review.
Thank you for letting me know not to see that film. lol
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