I went to this movie expecting to hate it. It’s been getting bad reviews, and I can understand why. It’s a religious movie, more specifically Christian, and it’s not trying to pretend it isn’t.
I am not Christian, and I do not believe in the Christian God. I don’t believe in vampires or elves either, but I still like movies about them.
I didn’t hate “Eli”. It’s religious without being preachy. I actually liked it, and let me tell you why.
I watch movies for many reasons. I’m no longer watching them purely for entertainment. If I see a trailer for a movie and it sparks my interest, I’ll go see it or rent it. I want to know how the story will unfold. I want to see how the actors performances compare to previous movies or T.V. shows I may have seen them in. But most of all, I watch them with the hope that I’ll be surprised.
I’ve seen so many movies that I can generally tell you what’s going to happen next and how it will end. Most of them run on a formula based on a genre.
This movie surprised me at the end. It has the “twist” ending it claims to have. The hints are there throughout the movie, but until you get to the end and realize how the whole thing was possible, you’re just not sure.
Eli (Denzel Washington) is the hero of the movie, he’s a walker who travels alone in a post-war world where civilization has ceased to exist and people are starting over with the bare essentials. Either you fend for yourself, or you get a group together and take advantage of weaker travelers.
Eli is on his way west when a stop in Carnegie’s (Gary Oldman) town brings him trouble he just can’t shake off. Eli is in possession of the book Carnegie has been searching for, and he wants it. Eli does not want to part with it, and so the story unfolds.
The book in question is the King James Bible. Where Eli would use the book for the good in was intended for, Carnegie wants to use it for the bad it’s been banned for. He wants to use it to control people and profit from their fear and faith.
There’s action, which kind of surprised me. Denzel kicks some ass in this. A lot of it is slow going, and there are moments of scripture dictation. I could’ve lived without some of the slow motion walking. There were however some comic relief, which for a movie like this is very much needed.
I wouldn’t recommend this movie to any of my friends. It’s not for everyone. I don’t plan on seeing it again, but I appreciated it for what it was. Some people will be so annoyed and against the religious undertones that they will not be able to appreciate the movie itself for what it is: FICTION.