The Book of Eli

I went into this movie just hoping that that Mila Kunis didn’t make it unbearable. She did not. Hooray. And including that wondrous success, the movie was surprisingly good. From the commercials I had seen and the R rating, it looked as if the movie would consist of Denzel Washington brutally murdering people, but doing it for some gosh-darn good reason that made him a hero. Although, the film does include some of this, it’s not nearly as gory as one would expect from the advertisements. The post-apocalyptic setting also allows the audience to give Denzel a pass if he is occasionally violent, as his life is full of near-death experiences – usually involving other people trying to kill him when he’s already starving to death. Denzel’s character is set-up as the classic man on a mission. There is no doubt he is portrayed as the good guy – doing anything from sharing his meager food rations with a rat to sparing prostitutes their “duty.” The conflict between a seemingly peaceful man and one who can kill you in less than five seconds is an intriguing one – one you may not understand until the end of the movie.

The barren world after the end of the world is a very interesting creation. We never find out exactly what brought the world from what it is now to the desolate desert it is in the movie - which I like. It lets you imagine all the ways humans can completely screw up everything. The scarce resources, especially the value of items that now are considered worthless, and empty landscapes and towns draw you in and make the circumstances believable. Once you accept that the place you are seeing is barely related to the one you currently live in, it’s easier to allow certain less than likely things to happen. The desperation of the “bad guy” played by Gary Oldman is seen in some form or another in everyone’s eyes; he’s just the only one with the power to pursue his somewhat insane goal. Violence seems to be the main pastime in this society, as people have nothing else to believe in except fulfilling their desires. Whether this is a more honest reality or one lacking because there is no morality, is one of the themes the movie explores. Overall it’s pretty badass while still raising a couple somewhat interesting questions about civilization – at least that’s what I’m going to say in order to back my enjoyment of the film.

A song may be coming… or not.