Scenario:
Gary WhittaCamera:
Don BurgessActeurs:
Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Lateef Crowder (meer)Streaming (1)
Samenvattingen(1)
In de nabije toekomst is Amerika door een oorlog een kaal en gevaarlijk niemandsland geworden, waarbij steden en snelwegen zijn vergaan tot dodelijke vallen. Gewapend met zijn jachtgeweer, zwaard en instinct heeft Eli (Denzel Washington) deze wereld jarenlang afgezworven, zichzelf verdedigend tegen zeer gewelddadige bendes op zoek naar overlevingsmiddelen. Als Eli aankomt in het vervallen Californië wekt hij met zijn aanwezigheid woede op bij zelfverklaarde dictator Carnegie (Gary Oldman), die zijn mannen opdracht geeft Eli te overmeesteren. Carnegie's stiefdochter Solara (Mila Kunis) vertelt Eli over haar stiefvader's wrede plannen om het gebied te veroveren en wanneer Eli uit de handen van Carnegie's mannen weet te ontsnappen, volgt Solara hem. Samen vervolgen ze Eli's weg naar San Francisco, waar het einddoel ligt van zijn lange reis: het afleveren van een boek dat kan helpen bij het redden van de mensheid. Carnegie heeft echter de achtervolging ingezet, en is tot alles in staat om Eli uit te schakelen voor hij dit doel kan bereiken. (Paradiso Films)
(meer)Video's (4)
Recensie (9)
For an action flick, The Book of Eli has too little action (two knife fights that take barely a minute and are more symbolic than physical + one static shootout). It is also too childishly simple for a drama with a message, with a few WTF moments (Denzel Washington’s invincibility, non-sequiturs in the plot and especially the unnecessary extra point in the ending). The post-apocalyptic atmosphere is limited by the film’s budget, and the director’s talent is not enough (the significantly more expensive Terminator Salvation was a lot sexier despite all its stupidity). The actors have nothing to play and the audience finds nothing to entertain them in this movie. As I gave three stars to I Am Legend, which was more engaging and interesting in terms of both visuals and plot, I’ve got to stick with only two stars here.
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I can see why Joel Silver tried to sell this film as a spectacular post-apocalyptic action flick. When the Hughes brothers presented him with the final cut, it must have been clear that he had poured eighty million into something that would never come back for the rest of his life. The Book of Eli is quite an unconventional road movie, which in its symbiotic audio/video position has an almost meditative effect. It's strange that even the few moments that get going (all of which were then furiously edited into the trailer) fit in and don't distract from it all. My only criticism is directed at the screenwriter, who sometimes lets the meaningfulness of the plot slip through his fingers. It's unfortunate that, according to the reviews, many were expecting another Terminator with the added bonus of a shocking point, which you can guess from the plot outline (and the poster), so there’s no point in ranting about it.
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One of the most ridiculously WTF stupid things I’ve seen this year. The atmosphere is alright, and so are the performances, the problem is that I am not able to get over the twist, which is utterly pointless and pulled out of a (religious) ass, notwithstanding its outcome, which is just idiotic. The dialogues are toe curling (the Bible), Denzel fights better than Chuck Norris and The Book of Eli was an annoying film experiences. 30 %
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A few knife fights and one bigger shootout do not make an action epic. And what's worse, one suspicious punchline and a few attempts at existential dialogues do not create a drama at all. The survival book stumbles from nowhere to nowhere, the actors meander precisely into their predictable boxes, and everything ends with one big question mark as to whether this is meant seriously. With a reasonable distance, it is still a weaker, disjointed nothingness that holds a few glimpses of post-apocalyptic atmosphere beyond the one-star threshold.
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While having faith play the main role doesn’t bother me, I would have imagined it a little differently. I'm glad it wasn't just a simple-minded shooter, though. On the other hand, D. Washington was loaded with too much goodness. Not enough badass lines, cleverness, and conviction. But I still find it touching that he memorized the entire Bible.
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