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

[Aaron Silverman]

Funny, when I heard "George and Martha" I thought "Washington," not "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."


The problem with the whole "God was looking out for him the whole time and gave him special sight" idea is that it means there was never any real chance of failure all along. As that implication continued to build, it kind of killed the suspense.


Overall, I thought the movie was OK but not great.


And I agree with Edwin -- a review thread is for people who haven't seen the movie yet. A discussion thread is for those who've already seen it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Matt^Brown official-the-book-of-eli-discussion-thread#post_3705216

I understand what you guys mean when you say that it was conveying hope but I felt like they were trying to create an atmosphere of dread. One where the only hope was the book and the mission and that the world was doomed without it. I never felt this and that made some scenes lose their punch. An example for me is the old couple that eat people that come to their house. I understand that the movie was trying to tell me that things are so bad people are forced to eat people. However the scene didn't really feel that creepy or give me the sense that the book was the only way to save the world. JMO

I don't think the world would have been doomed if the Bible hadn't survived. Surely, it had survived fairly well under the circumstances for thirty years or so. What was at stake was the fate of human culture. The Bible in this case is a surrogate for civilization.

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

Funny, when I heard "George and Martha" I thought "Washington," not "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."


When I watched it on Blu with my father, he said the same thing. I think it's the dynamic between Mr. Gambon and Ms. de la Tour that made me think of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." While the world's going to hell in a handbasket around them, they're locked into their own little world.


The problem with the whole "God was looking out for him the whole time and gave him special sight" idea is that it means there was never any real chance of failure all along. As that implication continued to build, it kind of killed the suspense.

To my mind, that just transferred the suspense from the bad guys to Eli himself. He was a prophet, but he was still a fallible man. If his conduct fell short, than so would his mission. If he had not lost the book in order to save Solara, I very much doubt he would have completed his mission.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I really, really liked this film. Saw it today for the first time. I wish I had known that the Hughes Brothers directed this when it came out in theaters. I'd have made a stronger effort to get there. I certainly got a strong The Road vibe, especially at the thematic level. Sure, the twist can be read as silly...but I don't even care. The film was working for me before it, and it woks fine with it. I enjoyed the earnestness and the texture. I also thought it was quite well-directed. Definitely going to pick this up.

 

[Sam Posten]

The author of The Book of Eli has some BIG BIG news =0


http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/will-and-jaden-smith-book-sci-fi-space-film-with-m-night-shyamalan-directing/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/will-smith-star-opposite-son-174388

 

[Greg_S_H]

This news sounds about three days too late. The only Whitta script I'm looking forward to experiencing is Duke Nukem Forever.

 

[Sam Posten]

Well, you should be playing DNF now, how's it going? He got credit as the writer BTW:

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=10310


Also Gary has big news, a collaboration with Paramount and Penny Arcade:

https://twitter.com/#!/garywhitta/status/76427387121831936


And Book of Eli is down to $8 at Target:

http://www.target.com/dp/B003LEN4IC

 

[Greg_S_H]

It don't come out until tomorrow, and street date breaking doesn't work with Steam as the gatekeeper. It's getting bad reviews, but I expect to enjoy it.