Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
Director: Albert Hughes (American Pimp), Allen Hughes (New York, I Love You)
Running Time: 1 hr 58 min
Release Date: Jan. 15, 2009
Budget: $80 million
Critics’ Thumbs Up: 49%
“…looks and feels good…” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“…a ponderous, dystopian bummer…” Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Dreariness and unnecessary violence overrule this post apocalyptic redemption tale, but Washington is its one bright spot. In The Book of Eli, he plays the mysterious Eli, a warrior who roams the wasteland 30 years after the final war, fending off nefarious highway men as he travels to a sacred destination. Though the film isn’t logical, emotionally relatable or even that exciting, Washington does at least offer a fierce yet world-weary portrayal of a man who is mourning the loss of how life once was. Oldman does his best as the villain who is seeking a precious object from Eli, but this character is poorly sketched and too exaggerated.
