Having spent thirty years walking across post-apocalyptic America, a book-toting loner named Eli (Denzel Washington) is nearing his goal of reaching the California coast. Stopping for a spell in what remains of an unnamed town, Eli comes to the attention of Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a would-be despot looking for the last remaining copy of a book he believes is the key to gaining control over what remains of civilization. Carnegie believes the mysterious tome Eli is carrying to be the very book he seeks; Eli, having sworn to see the book into safe hands, refuses to hand it over. Bloodshed follows.

CRITIQUE

The first fifteen minutes of The Book of Eli--the first feature work from directors Allen and Albert Hughes since 2001’s half-good From Hell--had me thinking I was going to be disappointed by story’s end (although to what degree I wasn’t sure). The movie began as just another by-the-numbers tale of a loner crossing a barren landscape, quickly dispatching anyone foolish enough to try to interrupt his journey.

But eventually the movie stepped off the beaten path, coming into (more or less) its own, and I started to get increasingly intrigued by and interested in it. It has a lot in common with most post-apocalyptic (road or otherwise) and/or taciturn-loner movies, but it brings a few new ideas to the table, and also offers the Hughes Brothers the best vehicle for their visual stylistics. It’s no Children of Men, but it’s also not the Waterworld rehash the trailers seemed to promise.

The marketing department at Warner Bros. concentrated on the action when attempting to sell The Book of Eli, but this isn’t an action flick, having more in common with the aforementioned Alfonso Cuarón stunner than it does The Road Warrior. There is some action (which is more often than not handled very well, particularly a scene where Oldman and his goons lay siege to an isolated homestead owned by an unrecognizable Michael Gambon [or at least I didn’t recognize him] and Frances de la Tour, a scene that also provides the best instances of the movie’s jet-black sense of humor) and more than a little violence (which doesn’t pull any punches), but these moments are generally brief interludes in what is a often a far quieter movie than you might expect. (The movie’s somewhat deliberate pacing is another thing that bothered me during the opening scenes, but this, too, was no longer an issue once I became attuned to the rhythm.) 

As weird as it may sound, The Book of Eli may go down as the first R-rated action flick to become a staple of church movie nights. The movie’s religious undertones are arguably overtones, but they don’t become overt to the point of heavy-handedness or preaching. And both sides of the coin are explored; rather than a simple message on how the power of faith can get you through any situation, the movie also touches on the fact that social, physical, and economic power can be gained through the misuse of faith. (Although never stated explicitly, it’s hinted that the misuse of faith was one of the root causes of the cataclysmic event that devastated the world. I’m sure the possible parallels to the current state of things aren’t coincidental.)

Unfortunately, The Book of Eli never gets into Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins territory (and despite my own feelings on the subject, that’s pretty much the last thing I would have wanted), but it’s refreshing to see a movie that appears to come down squarely on one side admit that the other side exists and represents an actual danger (and not in the cartoonish, laughable way most so-called faith-based filmmaking presents it). At its core the movie remains an action-tinged tale of a guy who’s just trying to fulfill his destiny, but in a genre that’s given us such instantly forgettable flicks as The Postman and Warlords of the 21st Century, even its somewhat modest thematic ambitions make it notable.

There’s a revelation (ahem) at the end of the movie that some may find silly, but I have to admit that it didn’t bother me. It bothered me when someone who saw the movie opening weekend slipped up and spoiled it for me, but as far as the revelation itself goes, it works in the context of the story. It certainly wouldn’t play in a more straightforward apocalyptic tale, but Eli’s trappings make it palatable. (Whether or not it’s plausible is a matter of individual choice.)

The movie’s very final moments, which struck me as tonally wrong, not to mention cliché and obvious, did bother me. They’re also hamstrung by the acting of Mila Kunis, who plays a young woman who tags along with Eli after he makes his getaway from Carnegie’s domain. Kunis isn’t up to the task of carrying these scenes, not projecting the gravitas the role calls for. She also can’t help but stand in the shadows created by Washington (who, perhaps needless to say, is great), with whom she shares most of her scenes, and Oldman (who once again is fantastic playing a man who is crazy in at least two senses of the word), with whom she shares a couple. Yeah, it’s the Katie Holmes thing all over again.

THE VIDEO

The color palette borders on the monochromatic at times, but that doesn’t prevent this disc’s 2.40:1/1080p transfer--encoded with VC-1 onto a 50GB disc--from looking absolutely amazing. The Hughes Brothers and cinematographer Don Burgess employed digital cameras, but this is one of those instances where you’d never guess it just by looking at the final result.

There’s a completely filmic look to the transfer, which handles the artificially inserted (and often heavy) grain with absolute ease. Virtually every color that isn’t an earth tone has been leached away, leaving behind a myriad of grays, browns, and blacks, which look (relatively speaking) incredible. There are a few bold primaries scattered about (mostly for contrast, although some shots of the horizon feature clouds that are shot through with a sickly green swirl), and they look equally good.

Depth is nothing short of fantastic, and all of the postproduction tweaking has done nothing to interfere with the level of detail. Intentionally ugly it may be, but it’s still a gorgeous transfer.

THE AUDIO

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track isn’t too shabby either. The mix can go from absolutely silent to earsplitting in the blink of an eye, but it never feels gimmicky. Deep bass action is plentiful throughout, always tight and punchy. There’s a lot of hushed dialogue (these taciturn loners don’t tend to shout, you know), but it never gets lost or buried.

The siege scene I mentioned earlier is the aural highpoint, with a 360-degree pan of a firing machinegun that would be self-consciously showoff-y if it didn’t work so damn well. Atticus Ross’s terrific score is given a great showcase. The video is demo material that doesn’t scream demo material, but the audio is straightforward demo material all the way.

French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are also included; English SFH, French, and Spanish subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The biggie here is another of Warner’s Maximum Movie Mode picture-in-picture track. As usual, you get a mixture of storyboards and conceptual art, behind-the-scene footage, and cast/crew interviews. There’s also some branching material, which delves into more detail on about a dozen or so topics. If you’d rather not branch away, the material is also included as a series of Focus Points featurettes.  

Starting Over (13 minutes, HD) gives a few members of the cast and crew, as well as some academics and theorists, an opportunity to share their thoughts on the possible fate of humanity should an apocalyptic event ever occur.

Eli’s Journey (18 minutes, HD) touches on the movie’s design and also delves into the mythological tropes that fuel the story.

The Book of Eli Soundtrack (5 minutes, HD) looks at both the movie’s score and sound design.

A Lost Tale: Billy (5 minutes, HD) is an animated short that covers some of Carnegie’s backstory. 

A few deleted scenes (2 minutes, HD) are also included, but they’re so short they don’t really matter.

Being a new Warner Bros. release, some first-batch copies will also contain a second disc that houses both standard-def DVD and digital copies of the movie.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Book of Eli ultimately puts only a minor spin on familiar material, but it offers enough surprises--and genuine moviemaking smarts--to set it apart from most modern offerings of this ilk.