At first glance - 'The Book of Eli' may look like another typical post-apocalyptic film in the style of such classics as the 'Mad Max' saga and the excellent anime feature "Fist of the North star" and in some ways it is similar in nature. The deserted open desert style landscapes, the leather-clad fashion accessories and lack of technology/resources are all present - but what really sets 'The Book of Eli' apart from those other films is it's story.
If you have not yet seen this film, I suggest you stop reading this review right now as i am about to go into plot details and touch on the "twist" so uh; "SPOILER ALERT":
'The Book of Eli' is essentially about a blind (that's the "twist" part) man who wonders the plains of a post-apocalyptic (possible result of a nuclear war as briefly mentioned in the film) landscape by himself with a single book in his possession. The "book" of Eli turns out to be none other than The Good Book - as in 'The Bible'. Not only is it 'The Bible', it also happens to be the very last 'Bible' on earth!
Eli's 'mission' given to him direct from the voice of God is to take the book West, so the film focus's on Eli's journey and the characters he meets/confronts throughout.
Denzel is good in the title role and brings enough overall substance to his character to make him believable and never over does or over acts any of his lines. I've also read he did all his own stunts and fight scenes for the film which scores extra points in my book!
Gary Oldman plays the lead villain role and his purpose is to take the book (Bible) from Eli and use it for his own personal methods of control. Gary is born to play villains so you can imagine that he is also superbly cast in his role.
Mila Kunis provides eye-candy and gives a very testosterone fueled film a very much needed female injection. I must say for someone who doesn't bathe (with soap at least) or wear any make-up in this post-apocalyptic future - she looks pretty fine to me!!!
Overall the films pace plays out well and there is enough plot, dialogue and action sequences to please most people who would bother seeing a film such as this one.
Now as for the "twist": So it turns out Eli is blind and the Bible is written in brail. This is only revealed to the viewer at the end of the film. However, there are many hints to Eli's blindness scattered throughout the film and off the top of my head - having seen this film only once, I can think of the following:
* When Eli first encounters the bandits at the start of the film, he lures them into the shadows to fight them indicating that he does not need sight to take out his opponents and that they will be at a dis-advantage in the dark. * Eli's sense of smell and hearing is re-remarkably good and obviously heightened as he smells the bandits when they are hiding and often sounds are louder in particular scenes indicating that this is how he hears things. * Though Eli wears sunglasses through the majority of the film, the bright desert sunlight does not seem to effect him as in one scene - he walks out of a darkened area into the sunlight and does not put his glasses on straight away. * Eli is mistaken for being asleep by Solara (Kunis) when he in fact he is not.
I'm sure there are more clues than that which will be easily identified on a second viewing when the viewer is looking for them.
All up, a very entertaining film with a decent plot and solid acting from the cast.
A must-see for fans of post-apocalyptic films!
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