The Book of Eli is a 2010 post-apocalyptic movie featuring Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman. In my opinion, while it is not good enough to be considered a masterpiece, the plot consisting in getting a MacGuffin from point A to point B, it does however present some aspects worth writing about. This article will be a bit more informal, so without further ado, here’s my two cents’ worth.
The setting is left relatively vague and the protagonists from time to time leave certain hints of their world. They refer to a war and something called “the flash” (probably a nuclear weapon that shattered the world); everyone wears sunglasses, possibly because of radiation, water is scarce and as such personal hygiene becomes a problem. There are infected people who have “the shakes” and this is briefly attributed to cannibalism. All and all this pretty much sums up the world building.
As previously mentioned the plot revolves around Denzell Washington having the undertaking of delivering a book, specifically the Bible, to a certain destination. This MacGuffin is the very same one that Gary Oldman, the antagonist, wants and will pursue for the duration of the movie. He recognizes the importance the book has and wants to use it as a weapon and manipulate people. The story however is not that important, and this will not be a case where poetically one might argue that the journey is more important than the mission itself is. The setting is secondary to the action and in my opinion that constitutes one of the problems. Some of the minor flaws the movie presents are based on Hollywood tropes: since it is a “hashtag” action movie, there are certain scenes that involve gunfights (at a certain point even an RPG is used). This would not be an issue in other cases (take Mad Max for instance), but in this particular case one of the lines in the movie entails that guns are always empty, hence out of bullets. There is however one great action scene in the movie and that is the fight under the bridge; if they would have taken this idea and applied it in some other moments, instead of the gunfight, I believe the result would have been much better.
What I think is worth mentioning either way is Gary Oldman’s performance; while I may give him too much credit because in my mind I can still envision his role in Léon, I feel pretty safe to say that he is a brilliant actor.
Another strong point of the movie is the use of colors: throughout its entirety, the color palette used varies between a light muddy-brown and a darker amber shade. Only towards the ending do these predominant hues are replaced by more natural colors that reflect a regained hope for a better world.
It could be interesting to consider the theme of religion and how it influences the development of the plot. I will be clear in saying that in my opinion the movie does not try to underline the importance of God and even less that of Christianity. Rather than emphasizing the faith in a book or a divinity, it emphasize the faith in rebuilding, the faith in the resilience of humankind and in the sheer will to survive. Time and time again we make mistakes and hinder our very existence in the process, but time and time again we rise from the ashes we have created and hope to start anew with a better understanding of what we have done wrong. This is to hoping that one day we will get there.
I would give this movie a 6 out of 10 post-apocalyptic sunglasses.