Review - The Book of Eli

I didn't expect much from this movie. It looked like a lame action movie set in an exact replica of the Fallout 3 environment (see below). To top that off, Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a 45% (based off of an average of positive vs. negative reviews throughout the internet/world). Not only that, but I had personal conversations with people who said it was bad, dissapointing, and not worth watching. Then, all of a sudden, a few people said it was good and worth checking out... specifically Wes and Seth, two people that I often clash and disagree with when it comes to movies they like. So to be honest, I'm not sure why I went to go see it today during my very large break. I did go see it though, and I'm glad I did. Their taste was spot on. I may have liked it for different reasons though.

The Book of Eli has been very falsely advertised. It is not an action movie. It has some action, is definitely violent and fairly mature, but most of the movie is completely action-less. My favorite part about the movie is that it takes its themes and its story so seriously, and does a great job of it in the process.

In my review of To Save a Life, I mentioned that I really wish Christianity was brought into Hollywood more often, rather than Christians staying on the outside making their own flicks. This movie was made in Hollywood, and it clearly has Christian themes (though it does water stuff down). I don't think it's spoiling anything to say what the book is, so I'll go ahead and say it... the book is The Bible. I think it's actually better knowing what the book is going into it. The movie takes The Bible extremely seriously. It gives God power, it gives The Bible power, and it shows the true power of faith. As a Christian, I really appreciated how it handled those things. On top of that, it was about human power on Earth and our desire to misuse God and His creation. I could see a non-Christian walking away from the movie still believing that The Bible is a tool to lead the ignorant in order to gain power for oneself. That message is there, to a point. As a Christian, I walk away from The Book of Eli recognizing that God can be twisted around for ugly and upsetting purposes, but if a person truly follows after God, the power of the Bible is so much greater and more meaningful.. It was pretty powerful.

There were some negative things about the movie. I thought that most of the hillbilly characters were laughably acted. Also, some of the scene transitions were pretty gimmicky. At first I thought they were cool transitions, and then I became distracted by the technique. Some of the violence was very over the top. That's not to say I dislike violence in movies; I just thought that some of it didn't fit and was purely there for thrills. The good definitely outweighed the bad in The Book of Eli. I won't spoil anything, but I really really liked the end of the movie. I admit that I saw what was coming before it came, and I was in fact pretty close, but I definitely missed something big. Now you're curious.

So who is this movie for? Not everyone. I'll be the first to admit that. There is a lot of cursing in it, and the few action scenes are all pretty violent. Outside of those action scenes, the movie moves pretty slowly. I loved the pacing, but if you like faster paced films, I think you could be bored. If you enjoy very bleak and not very uplifting post-apocalyptic movies and are interested in seeing how Hollywood handles a movie about the significance of The Bible, go see it. Don't hesitate. But I can't stress this last thing enough... this is not an action movie!

Potential based on Preview: 6/10
Actual Movie: 8.5/10