From the directing team known as the Hughes brothers ("From Hell") comes a post-apocalyptic tale of salvation and redemption. Denzel Washington stars as the titular Eli who travels across future-day wastelands in search of a place worthy of the sacred text he is bound to protect. After the nuclear wars, small luxuries like books and soap are hard to come by, and Eli carries one of the rarest and most sought-after books of all which he believes carries the key to restoring order to humanity. On his travels, Eli befriends a young woman, Solara (Mila Kunis) who joins him on his quest, but with evil town-tyrant Carnegie (Gary Oldman) and his crazy biker gang after the book, it seems nearly impossible that Eli and Solara will make it to safety alive. This sci-fi adventure is deftly executed by two directors who have experience in creating stunning imagery and setting a strong tone on film. From the radiation fall-out sky with its constantly skittering clouds to the high-granularity film stock that shows every dust mote dance across the screen, this is probably one of the most gorgeously shot movies I've ever seen. But without a solid story to back it up, the film ultimately disappoints. The plot keeps you engaged for the first two-thirds of the film, and Eli is a mesmerizing presence with his stoic demeanor and impressive ninja-like fighting skills. Unfortunately, the payoff that all this action leads up to doesn't feel deserving of the trouble Eli goes through to accomplish his task. Eli, in his mission, is grimly determined to persevere because he knows in his heart that he will succeed in his endeavor based on his faith alone. The problem is, his conviction isn't strong enough to carry that message through to the audience, and by the end I had lost my faith in the journey's outcome.
2 out of 5 stars
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