My Review: The Book of Eli (8/10)

¨I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.¨

The last movie the Hughes brother had directed was From Hell back in 2001 with Johnny Depp. After being absent for 9 years they are back directing this sci-fi post- apocalyptic epic movie starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis. The wait was well worth it because twin brothers Albert and Allen have made one of the best movies of the year so far. The cinematography is just beautiful with mostly black and white colors predominating in every scene. The story is also very intriguing thanks to a great performance from Denzel Washington who is one of the best actors in the business. For the first 20 minutes there is hardly any dialogue, but Denzel`s screen presence carries this movie. Gary Oldman also does a great job portraying a villain once again, which is what he does best. Even Mila Kunis is a pleasure to watch on screen as the secondary character since she has really matured as an actress and her beauty is also a plus. The Book of Eli was written by Gary Whitta and his vision of the devastated future is very well developed and the characters are also very interesting. The movie mixes science fiction with action very well, but it also feels like a western movie during some points so I would say this is a sci-fi western film.

The Book of Eli takes place some thirty years after the world has been devastated by a war. America is a wasteland with very few people left and no cities remaining. Food and water are scarce and the few survivors will do whatever it takes to get their hands on anything. They live in very poor conditions, uncivilized, fighting for survival every day. Eli (Denzel Washington) has been traveling across America for 30 years heading west. He is on a mission and is carrying the only existing copy of the Bible left because all others have been burned during the war (hinting that a religious war was what took place). He has survived all these years because he is a good hunter and is able to defend himself from other voyagers with exceptional martial arts skills. On his journey he comes across a small town which is ruled by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). He is in control of this town and has many people who bring him basic elements such as shampoo and books. Carnegie knows where to get water and exchanges this for other things which have allowed him to rule the town. He is in search of the Bible, as he knows that he can control and manipulate the people with that Book. Eli comes across this town and Carnegie realizes what an interesting character he is and offers him to stay with them. He offers Eli a nice place to spend the night and gives him food, but Eli knows he has to continue on his journey. In order to change his mind, Carnegie sends Solara (Mila Kunis) a beautiful girl to spend the night with him. Eli doesn´t sleep with her, but offers her some of the food and prays with her. The next day Carnegie finds Solara praying and therefore deduces that Eli has the book that he has been looking for and he will do whatever it takes to get his hands on it. The plot develops from this point on with Eli trying to reach his destination while facing Carnegie and his people.

This is one of my favorite films of this year so far because it has a great cast, the scenery is just spectacular, the story hooks your attention from the opening scene, the action is very well choreographed, and I loved the revealing twist at the end of the movie. The movie has everything going for it, good visual effects, good acting, good action sequences, and even a very funny scene that involves Eli and Solara finding refugee at an old couple`s house. The best thing about the movie is without a doubt the final scene which was much better than I expected and really catches you by surprise. Denzel Washington once again is the true star of the film as he is in every movie he stars in. Gary Oldman is at his best when playing villains and Carnegie is not the exception. And as I said before, Mila Kunis is always a delight to watch on screen and she is on her way of becoming a future star. The Hughes brothers proved that their long absence in the film industry hasn`t affected them and that they still are capable of directing excellent movies, I just hope they don`t wait another 9 years for their next film. I highly recommend this movie!