The world as we know it has ended.  Eli [Denzel Washington] carries the one book in the world which holds the secrets for the Earth’s salvation across America as he attempts to reach his destination where he believes it will be safe and it will serve its purpose.  Along the way he reaches a small town which Carnegie [Gary Oldman] rules over with a slew of men who do his bidding.  Carnegie wants this book and Eli refuses to give it up as he tries to move on in his travels while at the same time staying alive and keeping the book.

So as I think back to last night in the theatre while the end credits were rolling I still am not sure what the message of the film was.  Was the writer’s intention for me to go and burn every bible I can find or was it for me to realise that I must cherish this holy book with all these words and passages of hope and guidance for all the lost souls of the world?  For you to call this movie a religious film would be an understatement.  This movie lives and breathes religious theology.  It makes religion seem like the one weapon used to create and end wars at the same time and it all depends on which character you find yourself siding with based on their ideals on the topic of religion.

Gary Whitta went and made a tale of a wanderer with a precious goal to reach with his life in a world that has no morals or laws.  If you’ve read books like The Road then this world isn’t too unfamiliar, but at the same time it makes this movie seem more precious than anything else.  I walked into this movie with tempered expectations and left disappointed due to not only the direction that the story took but the limited amounts of action.  If there was one thing I was looking forward to, it was Denzel having to have to take groups of attackers after the book out.  This does happen every so often, but in relation to the amount of time that we spend with Denzel, and eventually Solara [Mila Kunis], walking across the desolate lands doing almost nothing it felt like a waste of my time.

The film presents this setting that so much can be done with and all it does is bores you.  After the first fifteen or so minutes of introduction to Eli the character where we see him by himself and then kick some ass it all just slows down to a complete stop as we have to figure out the madness of this book worm bad guy, Carnegie, who just wants a certain book.  What is this book?  Why does he want it?  What is this book that Eli has?  Is it the book that Carnegie wants? Who gives a damn???  Especially with the finally out of nowhere twist that occurs in the third act almost nullifies everything that Eli does in the film.

I recommend this as a bonafide skip.  There are better post-apocalyptic films out there (as shown in my recent top ten).  Denzel may have a few good moments acting-wise in the film but the ridiculous twist ending and Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis’ performances both fall completely flat in a dull and drawn out story in a setting that deserves better.

IMDB says 7.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 46%

I say 4.0/10