Review: The Book of Eli – righteous indignation

Personally, I disagree. The book showed the importance of faith in harsh times. Eli was not perfect, towards the end he even said he forgot to live by what he laerned from it. It was in no way proselityzing christianity as the absolute best. But numbers indicate Christianity as the dominant faith on Earth. Mila Kunis was the weak point of the film, but she still managed to pull it off adequately in my opinion. The cinematography was its own character in the film, filling in the spaces where dialog was absent. I believe it did validate its stand on the importance of Faith by showing the power it gave Eli to remain “resolute even well all hope seemed lost”. If one man can influence that much of his environment in a positive way through the power of his faith, what can millions do with the right leadership?

Hi Mike,

What exactly did Eli actually achieve? He protected the book, fair enough, and he ended up getting it to an academic guy who made a few copies. Perhaps, if you are so inclined, you would find the recapitulation of the bible another positive action with which Eli can be attributed.

But what else about Eli’s journey resulted in a positive influence on the land? As I said in the review, he broke up a perfectly functional settlement, killed many people without showing any remorse or repentance, and at one point left Mila Kunis, who wanted to be his follower, locked in a cave and at the mercy of a man who he already knows is prepared to kill her and her mother if they displease him.

There is flawed character, and then there is a complete inability to empathise with the suffering of other human beings. He says at one point that he is not crazy. But he certainly sounds like it. Perhaps it’s the power of his psychosis, and not his faith, that powers him onwards. Or perhaps there is little difference.

Anyway, that’s just my interpretation. There are many ways in which the plot of the movie and the actions of the characters can be construed as criticising Christianity and faith rather than supporting and reaffirming them. I guess it depends on the angle at which you come at it from.

Cheers for the comment

I think I went into the movie with a biased view already (knowing that the book was a bible and not being much of a believer myself) but I think if you can swallow the force feeding of the Almighty the movie isn’t terrible.

I can see how the original reviewer feels about the religious overtones, you’re reminded about every 5 minutes that Washington’s character is a “believer” but most of the slaughtering is justified. Bible carrier or not, in the wasteland it’s either kill or be killed. The ending and the big twist was a bit out there.

This review seems to be more of an attack on the message than the movie itself. Giving C- strikes me as very odd since most of the people I know who watched it and who I don’t know that watched it give it minimum B. C- reasoning is probably not based on the movie.

I just saw the movie….was depressed with one more ‘after mankind’ has been destroyed or has destroyed itself theme, but I knew that going in and had to see what the ‘take’ was this time.
The cinematography, done in sepia, with a little color on specific persons, etc was excellent for this type of film, creating drama right there. The tones denote a feeling of ‘greyness’ in a grey time, setting the tone…..like don’t expect butterflies and fairies in this one.
I was explaining to a friend who didn’t understand my examination about the books being burned because ‘that belief’ had caused the destruction. As we all know (or most of us) that more men/women have been killed in the name of Christianity or ’some’ belief system then in any other. (at least that used to be the story….I am not sure now what the ratio would be). We have seen and are seeing people, right now, in our world being tortured, brainwashed, killed, for lack of belief in this or that ‘being’, and for not participating in one of many belief systems.
Yet, each one at the core seem to say there is a highest ‘god’ (by different names) and it is about love. However, it seems those ‘Gods’ have a human nature that judges, condemns, crucifies, and wrecks general havoc on those who do not tow the line. (I have a problem with that right there!)
I also had a problem with a man, supposedly following ‘faith’ and being told he would be protected, to take this holy book ’somewhere’ and killing people along the way to get there. Actually this is fairly typical of what humanity does do. This, in my own opinion is decidedly NOT WHAT THE CREATOR ..the true one would do. In my own studies about how The Bible came to become what it is now, is so fraught with mankind’s’ own interpretations/writings/corruptions, that it is not following the original intention of that ‘God’. Indeed, Jesus said that he did not come to be worshiped as a God, but ‘we’ have created that position for him. This follows in the other books too that are on that shelf beside it, where it was placed (in the film).
Yes, the character in the town was bringing some kind of order, but it was not out of the love in his heart, it was for greed and control, and his search for The Bible was just one more step in his search for more power, for he, himself to seem to have the keys to heaven. I see how easy it is for anyone to put themselves in a place of power when they control…..water, fuel, etc. They always pull people into their side who also will do anything to be on the top of the heap.
There are those who think mankind needs religion, needs to believe in a higher power, in a heaven or hell ….or else there is no reason for him/her to be loving/giving/productive/compassionate, that it has to be a matter of ….’blackmail’ really.

Then, there are others who acknowledge that we are spirits in human form and that spirit is connected to the god-head which is pure love, and so we all have that divine capacity within us to tap into and become that which is.

Interesting that Alcatraz, which had been a prison, now (in the film) is a repository of past achievements, music, art, writings, etc so that they can recreate civilization. In the basement of the Vatican, in the Libraries of Alexandria, and other places that gather up seemingly the Best’ of mankind for recording and eduction for the future.
I am at a point in my life of wondering what is the point….of anything? If they want to re-create civilization the way it was, then aren’t they in essence also creating their own destruction again in the future? Drastic shifts seem in order.

Eli, then is ’supposed’ to be a ‘man of god’..being guided by ‘God’ to this point….but at what price? Jesus, as far as I know, never killed anyone, just loved them, forgave them and taught them principles of life to live by. Does this “Eli” then, make a mockery of that?

One of the reasons I stopped going to ‘churches’ …or belonging to any organized religion was because I saw the hypocrisy. At a very young age, I questioned why people would go there, read The Bible, study it, preach it and …….not practice it. ……..what was the point? I am not saying some very good people are in any or all ‘practices’ ………for ‘belief’ is really a very personal thing, faith comes from within and ‘denotes’ an inner connection to that ‘other-worldly’ realm from which life and energy flows.

In my own opinion….if he was really guided by “God’ and protected…..he wouldn’t have had to kill at all, but would have been fed/led/protected in ways that were from beyond ….. in ways that Jesus demonstrated. It is not the ‘word’ that is important……..it is the actions. Yes, he did allude to that at the end, but why then?

So I was left with much musing, many questions, and was hoping that this film was an instrument to also make ‘followers’ stop to question ‘who’ and ‘what they are following and to ‘what’ ends.

I was left wondering if “Christians” would cheer this film, cheer this man for his actions as they (not all) use the actions of Jesus chasing out the money changers from the temple to justify their own judgments and condemnations, and killings of many, not even understanding the reason that he did this. On the other hand, will this film ‘wake’ up not only Christians, but those of other belief systems to examine themselves and to what truth they have been faithful, to what “god” they have been following.

I did a google search to find some discussion on this …so am glad to find this site.

thanks

Nice comments guys

Joe - I think that finding the religious message hard to swallow was a fairly big issue for me, but even if it had been about a fictional faith, the other elements of the film were just not strong enough. The dialogue, characterisation and action were all mediocre. The costumes were quite good, but then they weren’t particularly original. The Road had superior cinematography and presented a more complete picture of a dying planet. Glad you thought the ‘twist’ was a bit erroneous too.

Icplus - I don’t believe in the whole ratings system which many reviewers use, and so I was using the grading/stars in a satirical way. However, the message and the movie that conveys it are inextricably intertwined, and so judging the two separately is impossible, despite the fact that I broke down the review into two parts.

Gwen - What a brilliantly complex and comprehensive comment. It puts my review to shame in many ways. I’ll try and address as much of it as I can.

I agree that the cinematography was fairly impressive in some parts, though as I said earlier there are plenty of superior examples in contemporary Hollywood. It did lift the film, if only marginally.

Your critique of organised religion, and the pointless resurrection of the pre-apocalyptic society that the Alcatraz inhabitants are attempting using the old, demonstrably flawed building blocks, is spot on. I thought at first that Malcolm McDowell’s character was simply preserving The Bible as a historical and cultural artefact, which like any work of literature is worth retaining but not worshiping. However, the printing of many copies which was shown in montage at the end of the film suggests that it will actually be used to spread Christianity through the world once more, which as you rightly say would be self-defeating, and create a self-perpetuating cycle of suffering and destruction.

You also bring up a very worrying point about the celebratory message which many Christians have found within this film. Like you, I was troubled by many aspects of the message, which attempted to justify violence, suffering and intolerance in pursuit of the ‘greater good’ (which in this case was the protection and subsequent resurrection of Christianity, and perhaps other organised religions). However, others believe The Book of Eli to have caused scintillating revival of faith within themselves. The inability to see the inconsistencies and the hypocrisy that comes with this is perhaps symptomatic of holding faith in the first place. It relies on the subject completely submitting to a set of ideas based on nothing more than the fact that ideological stubbornness is somehow admirable.

In relation to Gary Oldman’s character, I was really being deliberately contrary in my support of him, but at least he is honest about his intentions and driven by the perfectly understandable human emotion of greed. And not by a little voice in his head. He knows that the ultimate power of faith in any society is the power which it gives to those humans who interpret or create the articles of faith. The mind-forged manacles if you will. The opiate of the masses. Etc etc etc. A means of moral blackmail, as you said in your comment, justifying many positive acts, but also permitting irreparable ones.

I lost your thread a little when you mentioned those who believe that a kind of transcendental spiritualism connected all humans. I presume that this is your preferred stand point (though I apologise if I have misinterpreted your words). Whatever this current spate of post-apocalyptic films intend to tell us explicitly with their themes, the popularity of the genre in general reveals the general desire for death, destruction and extinction which humans posses. Or rather the desire to be the last people on the planet. Where’s Freud when you need him?

Anyway, a good stimulating discussion is developing. Thanks to you all. :p

I Just saw the film last night and had a very lengthy discussion with two of my friends. I ready through the comments and find them all quite astute. I liked the character of the shopping cart lady as she represented temptation, like the forbidden fruit. I am not religious, but I found the movie to be thought provoking, On a lighter note, Mila Kunis as a knife wielding missionary. Double the body count, guys would think she is an easy target, part two.

Statistics have revealed that there are many 30 year olds who NEVER read the Bible. Also many homes today have not only 1 copy of this Book but at least 4 per household. So finding one and unique for Eli as his character said “I was led to it”. The most awesome part was that he memorized the whole Book to be able to dictate it back. The written word, which God has given us and for which we take for granted.

You all missed the point.

I just want to say I agree with everything this review said. Absolutely hits the nail on the head, and I don’t feel the need to make any extra points on top of his.

thank you….just the rat in that maize of my brain runs around and sometimes finds the tidbit that lights up the light and we get ‘aha’ experiences….and then it runs away and we have senior moments again…

grin..

another subtle thing I think worth mentioning in the movie that just ‘came’ to me tonight.

More symbolism of the use of Alcatraz is that is called “The Rock”, from whence the ‘rebuilding was to begin again…..

If I may quote here from The Bible..

In Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13-18
13. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, ‘
Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?
14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15. He saith unto the, ‘But whom say ye that I am?
16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (petros,a small stone) and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

……….”Upon this rock”……..

Then, there is the point of him ‘wandering’ in the desert all those years, as Moses wandered in the desert leading the Israelites for 40 years, trying to find the promised land. It maybe that some people today have not read the Old Testament and know or remember that they also were told to kill everyone in their path pretty much….(which makes me shiver) and also makes me wonder more about that particular ‘god’…….another seemingly ‘justification’ for ’some’ that ‘they’ are the chosen ones and all the rest are sinners and thus disposable.

In the film, they go to great pains to make all those he has killed to be ‘the bad guys’….pretty darned decadent and hostile, so one doesn’t feel too bad that they are out of the picture….

Another movie I have watched many times, I should say ‘movies’ because it is a trilogy are of course “The Matrix”. Once more, they think they have found “the One”…..and he has to resort to such violence before he can bring peace to all.
But, as we found out in the last movie, this has been done before, and has been repeated over and over, and most likely will be again…..

so there again……what is the point? Is violence really required to find peace…..is that the programming???…..It sure seems to be these days.

Personally, a good movie to me, is one that is not so obvious, not so ‘in my face’….but one that does leave me thinking about it, musing and then having bits and pieces of the puzzle will start to come together. The movie “2001′ really did this for me. It still does my mind tingling…and I am still having ‘aha’ eperiences from it.

The Book of Eli, ‘perhaps’….has many more subtleties and more depth then we at first see. It will be interesting to read more reviews.

Meanwhile, I am still musing away….:-)

gwen

Glad to see more comments arriving

Danny - I though the trap laid by those road bandits using the woman was interesting too. Her sympathy and seeming reluctance to go along with the guys was a little off, though. Also, are you suggesting that a sequel would be a good thing? I shudder to think…

Neelie - I imagine that there are more 30 year olds who have read Catcher in the Rye than there are who have read The Bible. I only mention it because JD Salinger died recently, and it might be suggested that the pages of his novel contain more helpful advice for young people than The Bible does. But then there are some conspiracy theorists who think that it activates sleeper agents or something, so who knows?

Neil - Cheers

Gwen - Comparing TBOE to The Matrix trilogy is sensible. Though The Matrix didn’t beat the audience over the head with its philosophy quite as much as TBOE.

I despise movies and books that preach at me and I didn’t quite get that feeling out the Book of Eli. In fact, for the first third of the movie I didn’t even know for certain that the book was in fact the Bible - so up till then it just seemed like a stylish Post Apocalyptic movie - albiet one that Chuck Norris should have made twenty years ago…

Discovering that the book of Eli was the Bible was a bit of a low point for me. The part when he’s asked to recite from the bible and all he can come with is that tired old quote made popular by Pulp Fiction was when it hit rock bottom. If the book is going to save mankind, shouldn’t it have something a little more positive to say?

But oddly enough when he seemed to take on some kind of spiritual superpowers (seemingly immune to gunfire at one point) I began to cheer up. Now *that* is something different and in a sense refreshing. A man who lives on faith alone. A bit like John Locke out of Lost.

So here I was, all set for a theological story and the film missed all its great chances. After Carnegie’s right hand man shot Eli twice in the back and “missed” and then declined to shoot him again, I thought the man was going to have some kind of revelation. After all, the guy had shown some reluctance to stoop as low as the rest of Carnegies raiders so there was a hint of some goodness in him. I hoped that he might go on the road with Eli as another man following a faith he didn’t understand -except in his gut. Heck, he could have even have joined them because of his desire for Kunis. But they side stepped around that opportunity.

The twist in the end made the movie more like Blind Fury meets Mad Max, and was something of an improvement. But only if you accept that God was guiding him the whole time - for the fact is that blind men don’t get to block unseen machete strikes.