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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Book of Eli, The
EMAILPRINTWarner Bros. Pictures

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 181 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Drama | Western
Written by: Gary Whitta
Directed by:
Albert Hughes
Allen Hughes
Release Date:
Theatrical: January 15, 2010
DVD: June 15, 2010
Running Time: 118 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for some brutal violence and language
Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, and Evan Jones
In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive--and continue. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity. Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie. (Warner Bros.)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The film looks and feels good, and Washington's performance is the more uncanny the more we think back over it. The ending is "flawed," as we critics like to say, but it's so magnificently, shamelessly, implausibly flawed that (a) it breaks apart from the movie and has a life of its own, or (b) at least it avoids being predictable.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The Book of Eli works, even if the preservation of Christianity isn’t high on your personal post-apocalypse bucket list. Establishing its storytelling rules clearly and well, the film simply is better, and better-acted, than the average end-of-the-world fairy tale.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Calvin Wilson
Washington is surprisingly persuasive as a world-weary blade-wielder, and Oldman makes the most of a not particularly interesting villain. But the film's breakout star may be Kunis, who brings to Solara a blend of sassiness and sexiness that's reminiscent of Michelle Pfeiffer.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Though not as lyrical as "The Road," which benefits from both its visual artistry and its humanist perspective, The Book of Eli employs the genre conventions of the western to make mythic its principal character.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Its hero may be on a mission from above, but in a refreshing twist, the fate of mankind rests with the literate.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
A dynamic story, sprinkled with some interesting ideas about the preciousness of culture and how societies might rebuild themselves.
Read Full Review >Boxoffice Magazine Pete Hammond
The Book of Eli takes the violent, gritty feel of a spaghetti western, marries it with elements of "The Road," places it in the future and gives it a spiritual twist.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Cliff Doerksen
The sepia-toned palette gets a little wearying, but the dialogue is hilarious, the violence is crunchy, and cameos by Tom Waits and topflight Brit character actor Michael Gambon are worth the ticket price alone.
Read Full Review >Arizona Republic Bill Goodykoontz
Its over-the-top violence is cartoonish at times, menacing at others - which is a good thing. And truly, if one must wander a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape with somebody, who better to wander with than Denzel Washington?
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Washington doesn’t look as if he’s having much fun, and who can blame him? Perhaps he agrees with me: Apocalypse movies, like apocalypse heroes, need some laughs, too.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Much has been made of the film's ending, vis-à-vis whether or not it's a pro- or anti-organized religion commentary of some sort. The Hughes Brothers, for two, say they just wanted to make a kickass piece of contemporary entertainment, and I, for one, believe them.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
A hyper-violent, post-apocalyptic Western in the mold of "Mad Max" that can't make up its mind whether it wants to be corny or misanthropic.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
The film’s cool-looking desaturated look (not unlike “The Road”), plentiful action and Washington’s charismatic gravitas as the taciturn hero make it relatively easy to overlook the pretensions and implausibilities in the script.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The Book of Eli isn't as exciting or funny or inspiring as it wants and needs to be, and its preachy ending is an ordeal. But Washington, a movie star who can act, is one cool dude who is worth following anywhere.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The problem with The Book of Eli is that the narrative isn't a match for its sentiments. The script feels like it's an iteration or two short of a final draft.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
The Hughes Brothers' measured, well-paced direction complements the comic-book simplicity of this narrative.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
The movie keeps you watching and generally engaged.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Somewhat entertaining, in its own little mud-brown way.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
This makes "Eli" sort of wonderfully silly toward the end, as if the Hughes brothers set out to make the first-ever faith-based "Mad Max" movie.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The story requires a greater leap of faith than I was willing or able to muster, since Eli is also a saintly pilgrim on a God-given mission to save a ruined world.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
So we're back on "The Road ," but this time Eli's coming – better hide your heart and, while you're at it, put your brain on hold, the easier to enjoy the action-filled sermon to come.
Read Full Review >Premiere Michael Mariani
Starts out strong and boasts a convincing picture of the post-war world as an anarchic desert. But it comes to ditch its fun stylization for vague themes of religiosity and morality, leaving you with a disappointingly muddled movie.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Yet it all comes down to one simplistic idea, and the result feels like a one-film evangelical movement.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The Book of Eli is “The Road’’ with twice the plot, four times the ammunition, and half the brains; it’ll probably make 10 times the money.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Some mordant comic touches would have been welcome throughout the picture, which has a somber tone that suffers a bit from lack of modulation and nuance.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Nick Pinkerton
The Book of Eli's plastic parable isn't much more advanced than "Insane Clown Posse" theology.
Read Full Review >Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore
Whatever its virtues, Eli is a movie that can’t help but suffer in comparison to the much-delayed and much better "Road."
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Keith Uhlich
For a few brief moments, the film becomes something close to Greek mythology, as opposed to graphic-novel imitator. What a feeling!
Read Full Review >Empire Kim Newman
Mad Max 2 with Thought for the Day thrown in. There’s some ace post-holocaust action, but you can’t help feel you were invited to a party with fizzy pop and cream cake and got suckered into a sermon instead.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A didactic and humorless Western, Eli is too laborious for an action film and too brutal to be an inspirational tale.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A ponderous dystopian bummer that might be described as "The Road Warrior" without car chases, or "The Road" without humanity.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
There is also a last-minute "Sixth Sense" twist, although it definitely won't make you sit through the movie again to see if the filmmakers cheated.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker David Denby
The Book of Eli combines the maximum in hollow piety with remorseless violence. [18 Jan. 2010, p.82]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 181 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Kevin gave it a10:
Apparently MIKE and Morrison B. have not seen the movie. Best movie I have seen in a long time. The twist is not worn out. The action is great. In a post apocalyptic world how many people do you expect to be alive? Therefore not much to kill. Great portrait this movie paints. Christian movie? Yes to the core. One that is among the best movies IMO even if the critics disagree.
Christopher A. gave it a10:
Part horror and part action, this movie rocked. I never became bored once, and I like very few movies. It was original, which is a rare thing for movies nowadays. The only reason I saw this movie was because Gary Oldman was in it, but I was highly impressed with Denzel Washington as well. I wish more movies of this quality were made.
Johnny H. gave it a10:
Seriously, any bad ratings of this movie comes from atheist pricks who get their panties in a wad whenever they hear the word "God" or see a Bible. This movie is fun, exciting and one of the most enjoyable movies i've seen in a while.
MiKE gave it a0:
Wow!! What an over the top silly movie. I do have to give credit for the opening scene. That was done very nicely. I had high hopes after the intro and I was waiting for an "action" very gof the movie "The road". What I got was garbage. Avoid this movie.
Joe B. gave it a7:
Liked it more than I thought I would. Lacked something but overall was a good watch.
Tom C. gave it a10:
Contrary to what haters out there are saying, it's a very unique, thoughtful, and well executed film. To counter the zero below, you certainly will NOT regret watching it.
Chase C. gave it an8:
This movie is a solid sci-fi/action flick whose AGNOSTIC message has sent it well below the radar of acceptance from your "even-the-idea-of-divine-means-panned" critics. I am not a practitioner of any religion and loved the performances of all the major players, particularly Oldman who made the detestable villain a character you could not get enough of. Wasington's portrayal of Eli brought the character to life through a constant state of butt-kickery, cool temper and a unique set of morals that made him human: hence not the messiah but a preserver of words. I'm not saying it should win Best Picture, but neither did anything that involved a Thunderdome.
