The Book of Eli

Jessie's thoughts:

I gotta say, I really liked this movie and enjoyed it a lot. I think that sometimes, the whole post-apocalypse movie thing can be very cliché if you’re not careful, and even though this movie had a little cliché-ness going on, it still managed to be unique. It actually was a lot different then I expected it to be and I liked it even more then I thought I would.
The first thing that I loved was that they didn’t dwell on how the world “used to be.” They kind of quickly explained what happened just to throw that in there, but the movie was a post-apocalypse setting and I really liked that they remembered that and didn’t try to do the whole memory flashback to how it all used to be.
I also thought the cinematography was incredible. The way they shot these scenes were just beautiful. You’re looking at this very desolate, deserted place but they still managed to portray it in a kind of heart-breakingly beautiful way. It was a very different portrayal then the normal depressing, everything’s-horrible-even-the landscape type of way that most post-apocalypse, well, anything is usually portrayed in.
The acting was incredible. Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis were amazing and I don’t think that they could have chosen two better actors for these roles. The story line was interesting, unique and very straight-forward which you don’t normally see in these types of movies.
Now on to the not-so-enjoyable parts, which there were very few of. The first thing that I didn’t really like was that the movie was a little slow. I expected this movie to be a lot of action and a little plot, and it turned out to be a lot of plot and average action. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there were a few parts that were kind of slow-moving and almost boring. On a personal level, I also had a little bit of an issue with the story but I’m trying to keep this as unbiased as possible so I’m not going to delve too far into that. Let’s just say that if you are not too into the Christian religion thing, you may have a little bit of an issue with the message that this movie gives off. But, all in all I think that this is a definite must see. If you aren’t in to the whole post-apocalypse/sci-fi thing, though, you may want to wait till this one is available to rent. It wasn’t too science fiction-y but it was definitely enough that if you really don’t like that genre, you may not want to waste the time or money to go see this one in the theater. Overall, I give this movie 4 pops.


Adam's thoughts:

So, yeah, it’s a post apocalypse world, but its not what you expect. For instance, the world is beautifully portrayed. The shots were almost artistic in capturing that beauty that you would not expect from a world destroyed by atomic destruction. Washington kicked capital A, one of his best roles in my opinion.. He played the heroic selfless action star that only he could. You felt for this guy when he was in his darkest hour and you cheered when he messed some bad dudes up.

I felt the plot line was simple, The main character Eli had this book that he didn’t want in the bad guys hands. As easy to follow as that story is they managed to make it complex enough that it kept you intrigued all the way to the end. The bad guy was evil but they didn’t spend a nasty time developing why. He was evil the moment he was on screen and you didn’t need to know why. He was the kind of bad guy you enjoy watching on screen and Gary Oldman played him very well.

There is a plot twist in the end of the movie and I am not going to give it away here, but it did catch me off guard. I’m one who usually is able to predict the plot twists but I didn’t see it coming. It was the kind of plot twist that you didn’t see at all and when you look back at the movie you only realize then that they gave you tons of hints. Very well done, now I want to go back and watch it again just to see all the hints that I missed!

The bad with it and the thing keeping it from 5 pops is what Jessie said. It’s a little long winded when it comes to some of the shots. What I did see that I didn’t feel was negative as Jessie did was that it did have some religious overtones. Now I’m not as opinionated as some people might be about religion but I do feel that this message that the movie overall attempted to state wasn’t religious in its own right. The message was one we all can relate to no matter our religious beliefs or upbringing. I did feel that the movie was slow at points and made me wonder when the next moment was. With breath taking action in this movie I’d like to have seen a bit more of an upbeat to the over all plot delivery.

Over all this movie is rich in plotline, character and cinematic beauty. It’s a must see and kicks off the start of this year rather well. I think it is a must go to the theater and I wouldn’t miss it. Have fun kids… but uh don’t bring your kids. (kind of gory.)