If I were to tell you it is possible to make a movie about a book people would kill to have and to protect, you would probably think Shaw had gone off her grammar rocker again. But trust me, that movie is possible and now playing in a theater near you.
But before I go any further, I have three admissions to make.
1. My life is rather busy and I am sad to say I rarely get to the movies.
2. I am a very forgiving movie watcher and I am happy to just be entertained.
3. I love Denzel Washington and will watch anything he is connected to whether it is good or not.
All that said, this past weekend I had the chance to see the new Denzel Washington movie The Book of Eli. And it was AMAZING!!!! Not just because it had been so long since I had seen a film on the big screen; my last time was this summer when I saw District 9 (more on that one some other time). Also not just because I was entertained, and I was so entertained. And not because Denzel Washington ROCKS, though he does.
This movie had it all. Strong story. Great acting. Excellent cinematography. The trailers do NOT give the whole thing away, not even close. The movie delivers all that the trailers promise and more. I was speechless at the end. It moved me. And I must admit I was skeptical. At first glance I thought this might be a rip off of the Mad Max franchise storyline. Thankfully, I was so wrong.
The story itself is brilliant. You were always left with one more question you wanted answered….why does Carnegie want this one particular book? Why will he kill for it? Who is Eli really and why is he walking? Why does everyone always ask to see you hands before doing business with you? There are more questions, but telling you those would give away too much of the story. Suffice it to say, this is not a movie that uses a top named actor and fantastic fight scenes to prop up a weak plot.
The gritty, barren landscape was believable. The lighting bothered me at first until I realized why they were using the effect; it fits perfectly with the storyline about what happened to create this post-apocalyptic landscape.
I could go on, but I would be revealing too much, taking away the power of the film, and I would rather you discover it for yourself. Go see how Hollywood made a movie about a book worth dying over. And even if you could care less about books, the world created in this film is worth exploring anyway….road gangs, kicking fight scenes, great one-liners, and even an amusing scene involving an elderly couple that came at just the right time to break a bit of the tension in the film. Trust me, you will be entertained.
I should find the time to go see it.
Yes, you should.