THE BOOK OF ELI

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JUNE 22, 2010

Where do I begin? Being a video game aficionado, “The Book Of Eli” creates a world that every gamer would love to explore. Guns, knives, bows and arrows. The great workings of an action adventure game, along the lines of the “Borderlands” and “Fallout 3” franchises. I wanted to wander in Eli’s shoes; wanted to uncover more than just the degenerate town, the cannibal couple’s homestead, and the evil book collecting Gary Oldman.

The story is well scripted, causing twists and turns, thrills and suspense. The characters are human and individualized. The scenery in the film is haunting and exquisite. I believed this film, much in the same way “The Road” depicted the end of civilization as we know it, bringing post-apocalypse to our front doors.

Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are a dream team for any director, having founded the industry in which they work. It is rare to see Gary Oldman as the villain, but he blew the part out of the water. The film left me positively wanting more, not in the form of a sequel, which they easily set up for, but in the form of embracing what I saw and wanting to delve in deeper. The subtle twists took me places I never imagined I would go and the morals throughout were coupled well with the explosions and graphics of a living, breathing action film.