*** Official THE BOOK OF ELI Review Thread (1 Viewer)

Patrick Sun · Jan 16, 2010

What happens when you have enough plot for a 30-40 minute short film, and stretch it out to 2 hours? A lot of boredom for the audience, and by the time we get to the end, whatever impact of the conclusion should have had just seems like an after-thought. Denzel Washington just doesn't have much to work with, and there aren't enough bad-ass moments to keep this viewer's interest.

I give it 1.75 stars, or a grade of C-.

Alphonse Brown · Jan 16, 2010

Interesting, this viewer had the opposite reaction. I was truly swept away in this post-apocalyptic wasteland and in the westward journey/mission Washington's character has been on for >30 years. The cinematography, art design and score accentuated the grayness of despair and hopelessness and the editing during the fight scenes was spot-on.

The conclusion to me is right up there w/ similar movies w/ "game-changing" conclusions that make it necessary for repeat viewings to catch the verbal and physical cues. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and applaud the Hughes Brothers for this fine early 2010 film.

Robert Crawford · Jan 16, 2010

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "The Book of Eli". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an [COLOR= #44708c]Official Discussion Thread[/COLOR].

Crawdaddy

Robert Crawford · Jan 16, 2010

After work, I viewed this film yesterday, I was into the film too and agree that it's going to take more than one viewing to fully appreciate this film effort. I do think the writing could've been a little tighter, but overall I was very much entertained.

Crawdaddy

Brett_M · Jan 19, 2010

Originally Posted by Alphonse Brown

Interesting, this viewer had the opposite reaction. I was truly swept away in this post-apocalyptic wasteland and in the westward journey/mission Washington's character has been on for >30 years. The cinematography, art design and score accentuated the grayness of despair and hopelessness and the editing during the fight scenes was spot-on.

The conclusion to me is right up there w/ similar movies w/ "game-changing" conclusions that make it necessary for repeat viewings to catch the verbal and physical cues. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and applaud the Hughes Brothers for this fine early 2010 film.

I agree. I found it absorbing and surprisingly moving -- great score and cinematography. It's worth checking out, especially if you like the key actors. In terms of post-apocalyptic anti-heros, Washington holds his own. I think that The Road is a better film, albeit with an entirely different theme and tone. This is a good entry into the pantheon.

***.5/*****

Diallo B · Jan 20, 2010

Originally Posted by Alphonse Brown

Interesting, this viewer had the opposite reaction. I was truly swept away in this post-apocalyptic wasteland and in the westward journey/mission Washington's character has been on for >30 years. The cinematography, art design and score accentuated the grayness of despair and hopelessness and the editing during the fight scenes was spot-on.

The conclusion to me is right up there w/ similar movies w/ "game-changing" conclusions that make it necessary for repeat viewings to catch the verbal and physical cues. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and applaud the Hughes Brothers for this fine early 2010 film.

agreed. couldn't have said it better.

4/5 stars. Definitely will require a repeat viewing. It also may require a little biblical knowledge.

Al_S · Jan 27, 2010

I agree with Patrick on this one. It was just blah and boring. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen that never did. I give it 2/5 stars.

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*** Official THE BOOK OF ELI Review Thread (1 Viewer)

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