Review by Matt Lynch: In my review of the Boston-set procedural "Edge of Darkness," I mentioned a rising demand for what I called "adult Thrillers." These are basically potboilers jazzed-up with big stars and glossy production values, usually concerning themselves with some sort of message or social agenda. It all reeks of Ron Howard to me. However, never one to shy away from a critical double-standard, I now submit Albert and Allen Hughes' "The Book of Eli," essentially the same type of film, but one I like. Switch out the contemporary "ripped from the headlines" context of 'Darkness' for a slightly allegorical sci-fi setting, toss in some gunfights and other sorta-manga-inspired shenanigans, and what I can't stand transforms into silly but effective entertainment. Amidst a vague mishmash of post-apocalyptic-wasteland tropes, the titular Eli (Denzel Washington) roams, shooting rats with a giant crossbow, listening to his iPod and committed to transporting the last remaining Bible to an undisclosed location somewhere along the American west coast. During his travels, he runs afoul of a violent Al Swearengen-ish Gary Oldman, who plays Carnegie, ruler of his Bartertown-cum-"Unforgiven" bastion of survivors. Oldman wishes to possess Denzel's Bible as a means of controlling an unruly populace and consolidating power, thereby setting up our film's trite but nevertheless thoughtful idealogical conflict.

This is exactly the kind of scrappy sci-fi actioner of which there should be a great deal more made and yet very few actually are. Far too often, genre films and television shows take themselves entirely too seriously; "The Book of Eli" may not be the most intelligent film, but it's at least preoccupied with a theme rather than perfunctory action set-pieces. I'd rather something like this than another mopey season of "Battlestar Galactica," which eventually started to believe it wasn't a show about spaceships and robots and turned into a preachy, brooding mess. "The Book of Eli" has Michael Gambon as a cannibal—and Denzel and Oldman in full-on, scenery chewing, Tony Scott mode. Denzel in particular hasn't been this much fun since "Crimson Tide," and Oldman is giving off serious echoes of his iconic role in "Leon: The Professional." Then there’s Ray Stevenson from TV’s "Rome," who spends “The Book of Eli” whistling the score from "Once Upon a Time in America." If that catalogue of nerdy references doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Of course, it needs to be stated that the film's essential allegory doesn't really hold up. While the Hughes Brothers’ camera carefully and consciously covers, in rather scrupulous detail, the day to day post-apocalypse existence in a way that's perhaps both more effective and more literal than John Hillcoat's "The Road," all this mess about the power of the Bible, the need for redemption and a totally superfluous relationship between Washington’s Eli and his extraneous sidekick (Mila Kunis) really just gum up the works. (Although it does build to a reasonably satisfying "Twilight Zone"-gotcha twist.) To reiterate, I'm happy to see the film trying to be "about something," but it's important to note that it fails. I rather found myself siding with Oldman’s nefarious agenda. At least that guy’s got a plan.

Last Word: "The Book of Eli" is good genre trash. Fun, a bit thoughtful, and dotted with solid action sequences. If you like that sort of thing, well, you know the rest.

Review By:
Matt Lynch

IN REVIEW ONLINE