Remember how, when you were watching The Road, you thought to yourself, "This needs more kung fu and Jesus"? God, and the Hughes brothers, heard your prayers. Denzel Washington is superbadass as a lone righteous dude carrying the last Bible across postnuke America, but the movie ultimately runs out of gas quicker than the rusty cars driven by the bad guys.

The Bigger Picture: Considering that The Book of Eli combines the postapocalyptic milieu of a Mad Max flick with the brutal violence and gospel message of The Passion of the Christ, it's easy to imagine that it might become Mel Gibson's favorite movie of the year. Will it be yours? That may depend upon how much you're willing to believe (in all senses of the word).

Washington plays a man initially known only as Walker, though eventually (nonspoiler spoiler, since it's in the friggin' title) revealed to be named Eli. He walks alone across a barren and overheated landscape, occasionally killing hairless cats for food, cleaning himself with KFC moist wipes (best product placement ever!), listening to the last iPod on Earth and reading a leather-bound copy of the Bible, which we are told is unique because all others were destroyed after the nuclear war survivors blamed it all on religion.

He's headed for the coast, basically because he believes God told him to go there.

But standing between him and the ocean is a small town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who, as bad luck would have it, has been sending out biker minions to comb the wastelands for a Bible of his own, believing that merely by quoting it he can better subjugate the people. When Eli won't share, well, much lopping off of limbs ensues. Washington learned all his own choreography, and it looks awesomely brutal.

The Hughes brothers have always had a penchant for the horrific, whether it be in the 'hood (Menace II Society), Vietnam (Dead Presidents) or Victorian England (From Hell), and it's where they're most comfortable here, beginning with the truly jarring opening scene and continuing through various scenes of decay that manage to be unsettling despite their somewhat fantastical nature.

Unfortunately, they haven't come up with a worthy payoff. There's a certain point at which Eli simply becomes too indestructible to be credible, and unless you can buy the implication that he's under divine protection from an interventionist God, the rest just doesn't hold much interest.

Perhaps if you are looking for a faith-based actioner, that may be precisely what's called for. Those hoping for a bigger bang to their payoff, however, will be let down. The first two-thirds of the movie would earn an A, but your mileage may vary on the rest.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Be forewarned that the Hughes brothers don't shy away from violence against women. Even though the story overall has a positive message, the brutal moments of rape and attempted rape may not be your idea of a good time at the movies.

The much anticipated film, Book of Eli is yet another masterpiece by Denzel Washington. It is postapocalyptic times and Eli's mission is to bring the last copy of the King James Version of the Holy Bible "West." We are not told where he comes from, only that it is "East," and he is traveling by foot to the west. Although the copy of the film I watched was of poor quality, it did not take away from the viewing as the way he is traveling is dry, stark and abysmal. He is not a violent man, but finds himself in violent situations protecting himself and his only possession, his Bible. We understand that he reads from it every night. He comes across a village where the warlord has been murdering anyone who crosses him. He is looking for a Bible to use to increase his power over the population. The story is fraught with lessons, biblical and otherwise. The Book of Eli is a must see, 4/5 because with all of the disasters worldwide, we glimpse a possible future. A prophetic film where the blind see and the crippled walk.

Good story line but not as good as I expected. The acting was pretty good, and some of the fighting scenes are very entertaining. Id say 7/10 for this one but hey I'm not a fan of some of these post-apocalyptic stories. One other note, I felt sometimes Denzel was too invisible. Descent movie and well worth the time watching

Predictable and simple minded post apocalyptic western style movie. No plot twists, no surprises, no interesting characters and lots of violence. One cowboy against the world. It wasn't even worth watching for free. And I usually enjoy a good post apocalyptic movie. But really, there was nothing surprising or interesting about this movie.

Big departure from the usual Cohen Brother work. The plot was the regular end of the world, Rad Warrior type movie, but Denzel Washington does a good job as the carrier of the word of the BIG GUY. I have to admit I did see the ending from almost the beginning, and the girl taking Elis' Ipod and machete smells of crappie sequel. But still worth the watch.

Although it feels like a parallel story taking place at the same time as THE ROAD, this post-apocalyptic thriller has the opposite effect, actually getting less complex and interesting as it goes along. At least it starts out well. The problem is a ho-hum storyline that feels as if it's been strapped to a rack and stretched to breaking point.

This movie was one of the best films that Denzel has done in a while.His work has been look at,as something that young actors need to look at.He took this roll and played this roll to the "T".I would tell all my friends to go see this movie.

There is not much to say about this movie. It has a great actor in Denzel Whasington. It centers around the ability for "man" to always strive for hope in the mist of neverending doom. Mila Kunis really didn't do much for Eli's presumable protoge'. Of course Garry Oldman always plays a good villian. All in all I give this movie a 3 out of 5. I just expected more from it.

From Carriers to The Road, from I Am Legend to Doomsday, it seems we just can't get enough of the apocalypse.

And the latest actor to come trudging through the wasteland brandishing a big gun and spouting gravelly one-liners is Denzel Washington, the star of this patchy future thriller.

He plays Eli, an enigmatic loner who, following a mysterious cataclysm known merely as "the flash", has spent 30 years walking westwards for reasons unknown.

Handy with a machete and toting a copy of the Bible in his backpack, he makes the mistake of wandering into a shanty town run by the evil Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who'll do anything to get his hands on the religious tome, which may be the last of its kind in existence.

Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the film sure looks the part with the action played out in a sun-blasted desert landscape.

The problem is a ho-hum storyline that feels as if it's been strapped to a rack and stretched to breaking point.
THE REEL LOWDOWN
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