The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli takes places in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse(generally described). It's more or less present day, except with roving bands of marauders, cutthroats (or is that repetitive?) and cannibals. In the midst of all this craziness and death is a man, a grizzly and dangerous man seemingly intent on a unspecified mission. Eli (Denzel Washington) is making his way West across what's left of the ravaged plains of America. He is a man of great mystery as is a book he carries with him hidden within his backpack (it's the Bible, there I ruined it for you). On a side note, this is a pretty one-dimensional character, he is largely a quiet man of action, so not many actors could pull this off. Denzel however does a very good job - he is truly believable and carries a certain presence about him on the screen.

Well, eventually he makes it to a small, desolate town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman - the guy from Dracula and Batman). Carnegie is a ruthless despot (more or less) of his own small little town. He is in search for the last remaining Bibles because he sees great power if he were to gain possession of one of them. He uses a local band of gang members and mercenaries to get this done. Just wait until Eli comes strolling into town and Carnegie finds out whats in his pack - then all hell breaks loose!! No, I really didn't give anything away. Trust me. Oldman is also a hell of an actor and can portray countless emotions through slight facial expressions. He plays a truly evil character - allergories (allegories?) to the devil abound.

Lastly, Mila Kunis plays Solaris, the attractive daughter to the ruthless Carnegie and will play a important part later in the movie.

This movie was very good. It is very violent and pretty action packed. And it is one of the most religious movies I've ever seen - I mean it's very heavy handed stuff. A good Catholic boy like me loved it but it's definitely not for everyone. It's a religious tale with a machete and a shotgun thrown it.