Book of Eli

This is such a good movie. I was always really hesitant to watch it the first time I saw it. I was afraid it would be too gory and grungy for my liking, but it actually was good. Plus it's got an all-star cast of Denzel Washington (Eli), Mila Kunia (Solara) and Gary Oldman (Carnegie).

This takes place oh about 30-40 years in the future, the world has turned post-apocalyptic, and the sun shines way too bright. So bright that people must wear sunglasses outside. Plus everything looks like a desert. (They filmed it in New Mexico!)

So we meet our rugged traveler Eli who seems to be quite the loner. Along his travels west, he runs into some hijackers who want to take his stuff. He kills them all with some serious killing moves and a gigantic knife. He also runs into a biker gang that murders and rapes innocent travelers. He doesn't intercede, as he believes he needs to stay on his path. He eventually ends up in a town where he barters with an old man who can charge up his battery. He uses his battery to play his ipod still. At the town we meet a greedy ole man Carnegie, who is basically the big man in charge He is obsessed with finding a particular book, but has yet to find it. Eli walks in to the bar across the street to fill up his canteen with water. He doesn't want any trouble, but he runs into the biker gang people. They threaten him so he kills them all in a bar fight.

Carnegie keeps him overnight, feeding him and sending Solara to keep him company overnight. He's not interested in her, but spends the night talking with her and teaching her how to pray.  She finds out that he has a Bible with him. Books are novelty in this world and most people can't read, so she is very intrigued by it. The next morning she reports back to Carnegie about their evening. After he threatens and hurts her blind mother (who is sleeping with Carnegie it seems like) she tells that he had a Bible.

He goes off to find Eli, who has just left his "cell" and is leaving town. Eli refuses to give up the book, and a big shootout occurs. He walks away unscathed heading west. Carnegie gets shot in the leg. Solara decides to follow him. He ditches her and she almost gets raped, but he comes and saves her. He explains to her that one day after "the blast" a voice told him where to go and he found the Bible in a pile of rubble. Then he was told to head west and that he would be protected. He is lead by faith as to where to go.

We also learn why Carnegie is so obsessed with getting the Bible. There are none left in world, as all the Bibles were destroyed after a big war, thought to be caused by the book. So Carnegie believes that he can use it as a weapon to control the masses and gain ultra power.

Carnegie chases after our duo, and finally finds them at an old farmhouse. Eli and Solara stopped there briefly, only to discover that the two old folks living there (Dumbledore and Madame Maxine from Harry Potter!) are cannibals. As they are about to leave Carnegie shows up, and all hell breaks loose. After shooting up the place, the two cannibals die while Eli and Solara are miraculously unscathed. They can't get away though, and once Solara is used as a bartering tool, Eli reluctantly hands over the book. Carnegie shoots him in the abdomen and leaves with his prize in tow.

While driving back to down, Solara fights back to escape. She kills the driver of her car, then blows up the rest of the caravan. Carnegie's car makes it through, and he leaves her alone because he just cares about the book. She finally finds Eli again and they head west. They make it all the way to San Francisco, and row out to Alcatraz
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SPOILER AHEAD!!!!!



Meanwhile, Carnegie is finally able to open the locked book, only to find that its ..........Braille!!! Did not see that coming. He tries to get Solara's mom to read it, but even though she remembers how she refuses to. She realizes that his reign is over, as the town is tearing itself apart and he is about to die from infection.

Eli and Solara make it into the once-prison to discover that there is a group of people lead by an Albert Einstein doppleganger. Their mission is to restart civilization. They are collecting art, literature, all the things that are center stones in the different cultures. But they lack a Bible. Eli has been reading the Bible everyday for the past 30 years and has it memorized. So he is able to peacefully relax and recite the Bible so it can be written down and reproduced. He then dies and Solara leaves Alcatraz, planning to travel home and get her mother.

It was really cool to see this movie again once you knew that Eli was blind the whole time. Andrew claims to have guessed it right away the first time he saw it after a few scenes. I was completely blindsided by it (teehee). The strength of his character was just amazing. He was so brave and resilient and faithful.

Andrew's Closing Though: Denzel is a beast

Up Next: Boondock Saints