The Book of Eli Review

The "Book of Eli" is a rare case of a film being better than its scenario. The scenario is 'B Movie class' stuff, full of time-honoured cliches, but the excellent photography, directing and acting (in that order perhaps) make it truly 'A Class'. Denzel Washington's character was refreshingly believable despite his 'unbelievable' stunts and heroics while the other main characters are also solid supports. The strongest point of the movie is the overall atmosphere very successfully aided by high contrast, low saturation photography and wonderful use digital technology. Only European comic books have managed to create such an atmosphere and I am wondering to what extent the Hughes brothers invested in French BD (Bandes Dessinees) before filming.

Finally, I loved the ending which was refreshingly not very Hollywoodean with few sparks and good, solid retribution.