"I won't tell you again, she's too hot to be in the movie!"
Post apocalyptica has nearly run its course. The end of the end of the world, is coming soon, but not to a theater near you. Fortunately for us, by opening the Hughes Brothers' The Book of Eli, we may be putting a cap on the genre. A greatest hits of sorts, Eli learns from the mistakes of others and ends the world right—and righteously, at that.
Some 30 years from "the war," Bible-wielding, martial artist and weapons expert Eli (a stalwart Denzel Washington) traverses across the barren U.S. of A with a simple, sole purpose in mind: to "go West." After slaughtering a band of road warriors with his macabre machete, Eli almost haphazardly comes upon a small town, headed by shrewd-thinking Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who has a blind mistress, Claudia (Jennifer Beals), who has a downright babe of a daughter played by Mila Kunis, in Solara (not to be confused with the Toyota luxury coupe). The Bible which Eli holds is a special one, in that it's (probably) the last one on Earth, or at least in the U.S., or at least on the path Eli is taking. Either way, Carnegie wants that shit, and he's going to get it at any cost.
Standing tall in the pocket, Denzel steers the ship with experienced, deliberate charisma. The repetitiveness of his '90s performances has all but faded, and now, well into the new millennium, he just keeps getting better and better. And, trained by Dan the man (Inosanto), he's looking pretty fly out there at 55+. After dabbling in a spree of familial, light-side supporting roles, it's nice to see Gary Oldman back in the fold as the film's main villain. Other than his name, Carnegie's really not much of a character, but as always, Oldman effortlessly rises above generics. Everybody fits—from our biblical hero and crafty villain, to the wily second-in-command (Ray Stevenson) and blind supporting female (Jennifer Beals), to the freakish road warriors, to great cameos by Michael Gambon and Tom Waits, all except Mila, of course, who had my mind firmly elsewhere.
The Washington-Oldman showdowns are easily some of the best moments of the film. Bar none, these two professionals know how to do it; hero actor meets villain actor and the fireworks fly. The Old Western-style standoff feels more like 'Clint Eastwood vs. the Stormtroopers' in terms of gun-slinging capability, but the latter, third-act raid on the house more than makes up for it. Voyeuristic and fun, the Hughes Brothers give special effects a good name. Perhaps, the most ingenius moment of the film is when Eli's name is revealed visually—a portal into his past, if you will—but only for a moment. For this alone, Hughes Brothers, I salute you.
In the end, there is some sunshine in The Book of Eli, which, despite an conventional-yet-unconventional third-act breakdown, manages to come out alright. It's The Road with a plot, it's Terminator: Salvation with a director(s), hell, it's even Children of Men with some humor, and hopefully it's the last of its kind for a long, long time. With that in mind, I only have one question: Who's ready for The Book of Solara?
**1/2 out of ****
~ Patrick Fryberger
