Don't Close the Book on 'The Book'
Posted by Lance Smith
I have not done a movie review in a while, but this movie was pretty compelling to me to write one. In the past few days I have watched two Denzel Washington movies, after not seeing him in a film for a few years. The first, 'The Taking of Pelham: 123' I will not go into to detail on because it's not really worth the time. 'The Book of Eli', however, is worth a review--and a good one at that.
Eli (Washington) is in a post-apocalyptic desert world after some kind of nuclear war has all but wiped out humanity. The war, as we find out later, may have been a religious battle (based on what is said by Eli). Eli's sole mission is to carry a sacred book across the country to the west coast. He was instructed by God himself to protect the last copy of this book. Along the way, he encounters some nasty characters, but takes them out with violent precision. He is a master swordsman and marksman, with uncanny reflexes. He takes out aggressors with ease, and rarely gets hurt in the process. It's like 'Mad Max' meets 'the Terminator'.
The book he carries, as it turns out, is the King James Bible, and the last one in existence. The bad guy (Gary Oldman) is bent on not destroying it, but using it for his own evil purposes by using its wisdom to manipulate the people to do what he wants them to do. "I don't have the eloquence it has. I need the words from that book!", he says.
The movie ends in a less-than-explosive climax, but the ending is powerful just the same. This is a thinking-man's movie, and not just a shoot-em-up. The ending is, well, amazing.
The movie starts slow, but gets better early on. Mila Kunis has come a long way since her role in 'That 70's Show', and does a good performance. Die-hard conservative Christians will still be offended by the violence and language of this film--including pointless, brutal murder and rape, which is hard to watch. Still, the underlying tones of the movie are quite spiritually thought-provoking, to say the least.
*SOAPBOX TIME - DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MY PERSONAL BELIEFS*
I am amazed at the amount of negative comments on Netflix about this being a "religious" film, and just the general public's distaste or even hatred for anything related to the Bible itself or even anything Biblical. Many comments were to the effect of "the movie would have been good, but was ruined by religious drivel", etc.
Wow, people really do push away the ultimate form of hope and love. They reject Christ with everything they have. What a messed up world we live in, where everyone would rather do what they want and satisfy their own desires, rather than those of the Lord of Creation. This world really is "all about me". We crucified Christ on the cross, and do it again every day--even in 2010. As Christians, now is the time more than ever to stand up for Christ and the Bible, because there is so much coming against us.
One might say watching a rated "R" movie is not something a Christian should do, and I agree with that to a point. However, if I am going to watch a movie like this, I am glad to see the underlying message is more than just that of bringing out the guns and blowing away the bad guys.
This mainstream movie may not be what God had in mind to spread His Word, but people can't deny there is a powerful message behind this movie, and that is what makes it so good.
