Any comments/reviews on The Book Of Eli yet?

[Neil]

Anyone seen it?

AICN seemed to like it - http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43647 & http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43649

[MinionZombie]

I might be going to see it on Sunday - my Cineworld is showing it, but weren't showing The Road last week, so I'll have to wait and see on The Road ... but wanted to see Eli as well, so I'll perhaps check it out this weekend if the weather/roads are alright.

[bassman]

Reviews are mixed. The biggest complaints I've seen so far are that it's cliche after cliche. But people also said that about Avatar and I still thought it was awesome, so.....

I'll check it out, but will probably wait for dvd.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Going SUnday afternoon... That movie looks to kick ass to pass up, especilaly with Gary Oldman in the cast

[Tricky]

Yeah cliches arent always a bad thing as long as they're done well, after all there are only seven basic plots :)

[rongravy]

I saw it. It starts out with him chopping heads off left and right, then kind of peters out. The story seems like a pretty darn good one. They just don't seem to delve very deeply into any parts of it.
They mention the hand shakiness of cannibals, but barely touch on it. There just seemed like a whole lot of something was left out, for them to even bring it up. They even get checked a few times by others for it. So I wanna know what up with that! The cannibals they meet are funny, but the whole hilarious scenerio is instantly blown to smithereens in favor of mindless violence. I don't want to ruin it more.
Still, it was watchable. 7/10.
I wanted to see Denzel kick more ass with his badass knife. He was a regular Chop-O-Matic. You should see what he can do to those nuts!

[MinionZombie]

Just got back from seeing it - enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.

It's definitely not the dumb action flick that the trailer suggests, it's a lot more thoughtful than that and doesn't spoon feed you information, and indeed some things are merely mentioned and then left well alone, or not shown (which in most cases is refreshing and interesting).

They present a brilliantly realised post-apocalyptic world (I was constantly getting a Fallout 3 vibe, which is a good thing), and I never really found it to be "cliched" - I was expecting, from that comment, for it to be like some dim witted action movie, but it most definitely wasn't.

Much more thoughtful than that, and while you can guess what the book of eli is itself very early on, that's not an issue - indeed the main exploration is in what the book means in this post apocalyptic world, which is quite interesting, but not in a blunt way either.

Some elements are skimmed over, so hopefully there's an extended cut coming for DVD, but even still I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought it would. Sure, certain chunks could have been trimmed down a little bit, but yeah - I dug it.

I say again though, this isn't an action movie, it's a thoughtful post apocalyptic movie with a few action set pieces.

One thing though - EPIC spoiler:

We find out at the end that Eli is blind ... now, some of the stuff he does, indeed a lot of it, is rather amazing for a blind man, and you think how on earth does he know his way around everywhere?

I put it down to him being guided by god, as well as being almost supernaturally perceptive to sound and scent.

So that was a bit "eh?", but just chalking it up to god and blind skill was good enough for me to let that slide, still a bit odd.

Indeed, the twist regarding the book - it being in braile - wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was expecting the pages to be blank entirely, and for Eli to be the re-incarnation of Jesus or something, or for the book to have been cut out in the middle and hidden somewhere.

But instead being in braile and Eli having memorised it - he's had countless years to do so after all - so he can recount it was quite cool.

[Danny]

back from seeing it myself and i really, really enjoyed it. its nothing like the trailer suggests. its basically about the two sides of religions coin, as a weapon to control the people, or an inspiration to overcome the impossible. the performances were great, gary oldman felt a bit like a stephen king bad guuy if you get what i mean, and meg griffon is a pretty face but still sort of broke the scenes she were in, but overall i really loved it. it felt complete. i saw a great story unfold in a world and the shots made it feel like a great realistic world. i cant help but compare it to the road, which felt dull and pessimistic by comparison. the road felt like just off screen the 'world' ended and it was just a tunnel through sets, whereas eli feels like a whole world your only seeing a small piece of.
Little bits like the no trespassing sign are a bit to emphasized and only on reflection do some of the bits make sense. but its really a tightly wound story and i didnt expect the ending and its a rare stand alone film thats not a remake or adaption that i can totally recommend if you dig this kind of thing. whilst the road was bland and depressing this film is vibrant and exciting. well worth checking out.

- should also point out the effects were great, at some points it was hard to tell what was cgi and what was sets, in particular a shootout at dumbledores house. that was a nice bit of effects use.

[MinionZombie]

Mind yourself of spoilers hellsing, but I'm glad you liked it. To be honest I expected to click on the email notification to see you going "meh", but you dug it - so cool.

Haven't seen The Road yet as my Cineworld don't have it on yet (grrrr!!!). I LOVED the book, and the book is a very dark and depressing kind of book - so naturally the film is going to show that element of people clinging onto life by their filthy fingernails in utter desperation.

A whole other vibe to Eli - which isn't as desperate, but it does have some very dark moments, and indeed shows a world that's a harsh and cruel place - "stick to the path, stick to the path".

Quite enjoyed Mila Kunis ("Meg Griffin" in Family Guy, and beginning to make a film career for herself) and thought she fitted in pretty well as the 'small town noob' exposed to the harsh reality of the outside world.

Oldman was great, as was Washington - but Oldman was better - he really sunk his teeth into a character alright, and must have had a great time playing it. Washington brings what Washington brings, but is also at times a total badass who takes names.

Indeed, the trailer suggests an action movie of the dimwitted kind - and it's totally NOT that movie - so it was a real, pleasant surprise for me as I wasn't expecting much going in.

Also - funny side story at the screening today - there was some 'chav ked' in a baseball cap, chavvy trainers and a football shirt who had the gaudiest bling Crucifix danging around him ... not only was it tacky, and no doubt completely unsuitable being around his neck (unless he goes against the stereotype, which is probably unlikely), but considering the content of The Book of Eli, it was kinda funny to see.

I think there were quite a few in the audience who were not viewing the movie they expected to see, and there were plenty of fuckers nipping out for a piss - I do wish people would not guzzle these tubs of ludicrously expensive coke - it's just annoying to have these numpties chugging along at the bottom of the screen.

...

Anyway, on a side note, the girl on the register (who wasn't some dimwit as you might possibly expect) thought I was a student - doing some research about age groups and movie viewing habits for the cinema - but no, as I revealed to her, I'm in fact 25 ... so while I may sometimes feel past-it already (sometimes), I clearly don't look my age, which is a good thing. :)

[Danny]

actually quite a few people walked out in my showing. not that i care i dug it just the same.

[Neil]

actually quite a few people walked out in my showing. not that i care i dug it just the same.

Walked out? Wow! I've not seen that at a cinema for ages....

[MinionZombie]

actually quite a few people walked out in my showing. not that i care i dug it just the same.


Walked out? Wow! I've not seen that at a cinema for ages....

Last time I saw it (or noticed it anyway) was Diary of the Dead, but perhaps the man was staff, who knows.

Also, I'm not at all surprised. I could tell from some of these frequent urinators in the audience that it totally wasn't the movie they were expecting either - but you know what - that's a good thing, because the movie is far better than what the trailer suggested. A pleasant January surprise.

[Danny]

Walked out? Wow! I've not seen that at a cinema for ages....

last time for me was funny people, and it came damn close to the first time i walked out, but i sat through it and then just wanted that last unneeded hour of my life back.:bored:
-as for eli i think people are expecting this quick paced mad max affair and it totally isn't. i heard one guy mutter to his "brah" that it was "queer religious bullshit dawg", after which they both chuckled like gorillas and did the ali-g finger snap thing i thought died out in the 20th century.

[Neil]

that's a good thing, because the movie is far better than what the trailer suggested. A pleasant January surprise.Oh! So do I see Sherlock or Eli then?

[Danny]

Oh! So do I see Sherlock or Eli then?

would you rather watch iron man or play fallout 3?

[MinionZombie]

would you rather watch iron man or play fallout 3?
hehe, innit just.

Neil - they're both thoroughly entertaining flicks, and both were a damn sight better than I'd thought they'd be.

If you want 19th century action with a great duo then go for Sherlock Holmes, but if you want a rather good, surprisingly thoughtful post-apocalyptic drama/thriller with a bit of action about religion, then go so Book of Eli.

You should see both of them though.

[JDFP]

Just had an opportunity to see "Eli" and I was impressed and enjoyed it quite a bit. Of course the comparisons are going to be made with "The Road" as it was released around the same time period (a la "Tombstone" and "Wyatt Earp", "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak", "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact", etc. etc.). I enjoyed both "The Road" and this flick -- although "Book of Eli" more.

"The Road" was basically one of the most depressing and bleak films I've ever seen before. "Book of Eli" is the complete opposite in giving a great deal of hope in a similar situation. It's far less bleak and depressing (although "The Road" is bleak and depressing done well).

My only issue I really had with the film was that it was a bit far fetched to imagine the "particular" text he has as the last remaining copy of it anywhere around. Considering that there's more copies of this "particular" text than any other work of writing in existence (except maybe "Chicken Soup for the Soul" :)).

Mila Kunis looks yummy, as usual, here. Gary Oldman is always freaking brilliant although I wish more back-story would have been given as to why he's "the head honcho" in town when he's clearly an intelligent and sophisticated individual living around a bunch of brutes.

On a side note: I was almost hoping the last scene of the film would have shown Malcolm McDowell's character placing a copy of the Qur'an on the shelf. I would have laughed my ass off and it would have taken the film to a decidedly different but all the same interesting place (that would have caused alot of people to hate it but the more intelligent of us to 'get the point' about it).

"Some people thought the book caused all the problems and so they sought it out to destroy." Indeed. :)

j.p.

[MinionZombie]

I too dig both The Road and The Book of Eli.

I enjoyed Book of Eli more than I was expecting to, and it was a far more intelligent and thoughtful movie than it appeared to be from the trailer.

Similarly, The Road was advertised as an action movie - even though it isn't (and I knew full well, having already read the book before seeing it). I really dug The Road, yes it's intensely bleak and depressing, but there's also a lot of love in there, and it's incredible to watch these people struggle through the realistic apocalypse.

On the other hand, TBOE is a movie apocalypse, hence being more hopeful ... and yeah, the conceit of the most popular book in the world being reduced to one copy is far fetched (to say the least), but even still, you can get by that. TBOE is the "cool" one of the apocalyptical pair with the flashy visuals and so on, but also some brains.

The Road is the intense, deep, dark and incredibly thoughtful one of the pair. They both provide different things in similar settings, and they're both ruddy good films.