"Book of Eli" review
If you know me then you know I love the post apocalyptic angle. So it was no surprise that I had pretty big expectations for "Book of Eli" when I first saw the trailer months ago. I got to say that it didn't live up to any sort of expectations I had. In the end in the book of Kevin this movie may be a front runner for worst movie of the year and I know that the year just started. I'm going to have a hard time writing without telling you what the book is. So if you don't want to know please stop reading now! SPOILER AHEAD
You've been warned. The book that this Eli character carries is the bible. Yes you read right it's the bible that's it. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble who expected something more inventive.
The story is basically about Eli (Denzel Washington) who is trying to get the bible "somewhere safe" in the west. The trouble starts when Eli makes a pit stop in a shanty town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman,) like the deli or the hall, which ever your preference is. Turns out all of the bibles have been lost in some war or something and Eli carries the only copy in existence and Carnegie wants it. The bible will supposedly give Carnegie the "words" to rule the land, seriously. And the entire movie is basically Carnegie sending out his men or going with them to try to get the bible Eli carries.
So I'm going to start out with the few things I really liked. The cinematography was pretty well done. I liked the way they filmed many of the scenes. The post apocalyptic world really felt like it had gone through an apocalypse. It felt desolate with danger lurking around every corner. I also enjoyed the fight scenes, although they were few and far between. I don't know if that goes along with cinematography.
Now on to what really irked me about this movie. It always felt like the movie hid behind the bible. Essentially saying to the viewer "you can't hate this because god is involved." And like another reviewer said (I'm paraphrasing here) there is no suspense when god is involved, you basically know which side is going to win. The movie was super preachy and I hated that. It felt like the movie was trying to make converts out of anyone watching it. That wouldn't have been a huge qualm if the story was strong,which it wasn't.
The person who wrote the script (Gary Whitta) literally must have wrote a 10 page long script. There was no real story or dialogue to speak of. To emphasize how badly it was written I will say that I reckon I could write a better script than the one that ended up getting used. I stand by my statement 100%. Whitta basically took ever cliche about how a post apocalyptic world should be and used them. Seriously it seemed like every single character in the movie had a very weak motivation to do what they did.
That was my main reason for hating the film. It contained a poorly written script with a nearly non existent plot. If that's not enough reason to dislike a movie then I don't know what is. I feel like the film should just be used as a recruitment tool for some sect of Christianity. I mean there were points during the film when I began asking myself if it was over yet. The movie was a waste of talent with Washington as the lead. I would urge you to steer clear of this movie unless you are highly religious then you may find this movie tolerable and maybe even enjoyable.
You've been warned. The book that this Eli character carries is the bible. Yes you read right it's the bible that's it. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble who expected something more inventive.
The story is basically about Eli (Denzel Washington) who is trying to get the bible "somewhere safe" in the west. The trouble starts when Eli makes a pit stop in a shanty town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman,) like the deli or the hall, which ever your preference is. Turns out all of the bibles have been lost in some war or something and Eli carries the only copy in existence and Carnegie wants it. The bible will supposedly give Carnegie the "words" to rule the land, seriously. And the entire movie is basically Carnegie sending out his men or going with them to try to get the bible Eli carries.
So I'm going to start out with the few things I really liked. The cinematography was pretty well done. I liked the way they filmed many of the scenes. The post apocalyptic world really felt like it had gone through an apocalypse. It felt desolate with danger lurking around every corner. I also enjoyed the fight scenes, although they were few and far between. I don't know if that goes along with cinematography.
Now on to what really irked me about this movie. It always felt like the movie hid behind the bible. Essentially saying to the viewer "you can't hate this because god is involved." And like another reviewer said (I'm paraphrasing here) there is no suspense when god is involved, you basically know which side is going to win. The movie was super preachy and I hated that. It felt like the movie was trying to make converts out of anyone watching it. That wouldn't have been a huge qualm if the story was strong,which it wasn't.
The person who wrote the script (Gary Whitta) literally must have wrote a 10 page long script. There was no real story or dialogue to speak of. To emphasize how badly it was written I will say that I reckon I could write a better script than the one that ended up getting used. I stand by my statement 100%. Whitta basically took ever cliche about how a post apocalyptic world should be and used them. Seriously it seemed like every single character in the movie had a very weak motivation to do what they did.
That was my main reason for hating the film. It contained a poorly written script with a nearly non existent plot. If that's not enough reason to dislike a movie then I don't know what is. I feel like the film should just be used as a recruitment tool for some sect of Christianity. I mean there were points during the film when I began asking myself if it was over yet. The movie was a waste of talent with Washington as the lead. I would urge you to steer clear of this movie unless you are highly religious then you may find this movie tolerable and maybe even enjoyable.
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