Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 188
Fresh: 91 | Rotten: 97
It's certainly uneven, and many viewers will find that its reach exceeds its grasp, but The Book of Eli finds the Hughes brothers injecting some fresh stylish fun into the kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland filmgoers have seen more than enough of lately.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 19
It's certainly uneven, and many viewers will find that its reach exceeds its grasp, but The Book of Eli finds the Hughes brothers injecting some fresh stylish fun into the kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland filmgoers have seen more than enough of lately.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 308,107
Add Rotten Tomatoes to your Facebook Timeline and get a full-length movie from Flixster!
The gift movie added to
your Flixster Collection is...
In a post-apocalyptic America where the once-picturesque countryside has become a desolate and violent wasteland, one man (Denzel Washington) fights to protect that sacred tome that could hold the key to the survival of the human race in this futuristic thriller from filmmaking duo Albert and Allen Hughes (From Hell and Dead Presidents). Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Ray Stevenson co-star in the Warner Bros. production. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Jan 15, 2010 Wide
Jun 15, 2010
$94.3M
Warner Bros. Pictures
All Critics (188) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (92) | Rotten (99) | DVD (9)
The Hughes brothers' film feels more vibrant than the bleak Road, which was launched at us in November. Here the brothers show us the horror but somehow the staid and calm Denzel feels more approachable than the distraught and scrambling Viggo.
t's a post-apocalyptic western, it's an evangelical tract, it's a road movie, it's a martial arts movie, it's a disaster movie, it's a graphic novel. It's equal parts The Road and The Robe, A Fistful of Dollars and Fist of Fury. It's Mad Max meets Left Be
Washington doesn't look as if he's having much fun, and who can blame him?
I'm not going to give it away, but there's a final plot twist in this movie that is beyond absurd.
Really, it's just another prophet-in-the-wilderness tale -- not nearly as bad as those trailers would suggest, yet neither will your soul run any risk of enlightenment.
Allen and Albert Hughes have created a plausible post-apocalyptic world.
I sat down to The Book of Eli expecting a lecture, and was instead treated to a rollicking action film that evoked the manic ultra-violence of Mad Max rather than the sensitive study of humanity of The Road.
The prophet Denzel practices his preach in the post-apocalyptic western The Book of Eli. Jesus will not be pleased.
...a watchable endeavor that should please fans of the genre...
The Book of Eli was missing a few chapters.
While the movie has illusions of portentousness, it can - and should - be taken as a chance to see good actors having a little too much ultra-violent fun.
... this post-apocalyptic odyssey manages to bring a spiritual miracle journey to the secular world and deliver a payoff on both levels.
A crackpot blend of sadism and scriptures, and reeking with the raw scent of a fanatical fundamentalism in cool video game clothing.
A crackpot blend of sadism and scriptures, and reeking with the raw scent of a fanatical fundamentalism in cool video game clothing.
It's not a great film, but has moments of brilliance. Jennifer Beals is outstanding and the lack of heavy-handed religious grandstanding is a welcome touch.
Despite Denzel Washington turning in a trademark, charismatic performance underscored by appropriately monochromatic cinematography, the film is still surprisingly unengaging.
...given a chance, without thinking too much about its simplistic moralizing, it can provide a rousing good time in the action department. (Blu-ray Combo Edition)
...if you can't get enough of this postapocalyptic stuff,'The Book of Eli' isn't a bad addition to the genre.
"I'm not certain the shell-game resolution is worth the journey, but the picture is satisfactorily atmospheric and often challenging, perhaps even unintentionally chilling in its closing statement of devotion."
Its unusual ambition and thoughtfulness make it resonate a bit more than most slick studio action fare.
Coming hot on the heels of The Road, Eli is a far more conventional and formulaic vision of future hell.
Decent.
Washington is always watchable and will hold your gaze during a highly ambitious but ultimately wonky attempt to inject spiritual depth into the blockbuster flock.
A post apocalyptic hell with plenty of faith thrown in. Good action sequences and the books twist at the end made me smile.
January 14, 2010Super Reviewer
Generally this is a pretty good film. Always fun to watch the good guy triumph over evil. But the details are a bit of a stretch. I had to go check out the plot in Wikipedia to confirm what I saw was what I was supposed to see. So I would give it 3 1/2 stars for a good scorched post-apocalypse world, but take off 1
April 15, 2012Super Reviewer
| 29% | The Vow |
| 93% | Mission: Impossible Ghost Protoc... |
| 87% | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
| 28% | Underworld Awakening |
| 85% | Chronicle |
| 85% | Chronicle |
| 79% | The Grey |
| 7% | The Devil Inside |
| 2% | One for the Money |
| 76% | Rampart |
Apes Sequel Gets a Writer
Battleship sinks to high heaven
Video: Your friendly four minute preview
New 007 poster and pictures