Review: The Book of Eli

Action. Apocalypse. The Future. Denzel. Mila Kunis. Gary Oldman as a bad guy. If you like any of those things, you will most likely dig this movie. All together they make for an entertaining time at the theater.

After seeing the trailer for The Book of Eli, I thought, oh great...another Denzel movie where he plays an over-acted badass in an attempt to get Oscar buzz. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a more subdued Denzel where the story is the focus and not it's A-lister. His performance here is noble and mysterious which keeps his character interesting as opposed to most of his other performances where he is just yelling all the time.

So we find out early on that this post-apocalyptic world is due to a catastrophic war and Eli has a book in his possession that he believes will save mankind when delivered to it's rightful place. His journey is driven by faith and hope in mankind, and he runs across obstacles that would prevent him from accomplishing his mission. These obstacles come in the form of cannibals and the great Gary Oldman and his goons.

Gary Oldman doesn't dissapoint as the villain and the man-in-charge of a small town where he has built a functioning civilization of crooks and survivors. He has spent his resources trying to find a book, which happens to be the book Eli is carrying. He too believes that this book will change mankind, but his reasons for finding the book are selfish. This is a perfect fit for Oldman's talents but he doesn't bring anything new. He gives a good performance which we have always come to expect.

What I liked were the fighting scenes. There is some well choreographed action with both guns and swords/knives. There is one particular scene where Eli and Mila Kunis' character are trapped in a house and they get pwned by Oldman's goons that was pretty sweet. And those of you that like a little bit of thought mixed with your action will probably enjoy the overall premise of the movie. I was a bit disgusted by some of the unneccesary product placement and logo advertising in the movie. But it wasn't enough to give it a bad review.

Lobo says: 3 out of 4 moons