Just returned from a preview of Book of Eli. (Thank you, Grace Hill Media.) The story: A superfast, supersensitive Denzel Washington wanders through post-apocalyptic USA, trying to shepherd the last remaining Bible to a place where it will make a difference. (Note to the writer: the developing (i.e. likely to be overlooked in case of a nuclear war) parts of the world actually have Bibles, too.)
Flash Review — Some fantastic action sequences — remind me never to get in another bar fight with D.W. (“Another”: long story.) A captivating world. And it’s Denzel — so of course he’s come to save the world (and the movie).
But just enough religion to make people say it’s “religious”, and not enough to actually mean anything (i.e. to make you think about the way you live your life). And the red pill: “redemptive violence”. Not since the book of Joshua have so many people been killed to get God’s work done. In Denzel’s hands it goes down smooth, (as does quite a plot point…), but when the flick’s over, you might wonder whether that was actually Kool-Aid you just drank.
Ranking: 2 Mad Maxes out of four.
Jim McDermott, S.J.
popculturepriest.tumblr.com
The Book of Eli
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
In his video message at White Sox stadium, Pope Leo encouraged young people to look inside themselves, recognize God’s presence in their own hearts and “recognize that God is present and that, perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you,
The June 14 celebration featured the first-ever airing of Pope Leo XIV’s video message to the world’s youth at the White Sox stadium in Chicago’s Southside.
Pope Leo called for a “commitment to build a world that is safer and free from the nuclear threat.”
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Tim Reidy