Escape to the Movies: Book of Eli

[HyenaThePirate]

Or, more apropos to this, if the reviewer had mentioned how good the other elements of the the total experience were, as well as mentioning the negative aspects, a lot of people would give the establishment a chance.

or ANY other elements to be quite honest. I think that's my problem with the review. It chose one questionable aspect of the film and beat it to death with a dead horse. What should have in the least have been a passing comment about the film's potential "preachy undertones" turned into a full blown rant, overshadowing any and all other subjects that could have been broached.

 

[Cody211282]

Or, more apropos to this, if the reviewer had mentioned how good the other elements of the the total experience were, as well as mentioning the negative aspects, a lot of people would give the establishment a chance.

or ANY other elements to be quite honest. I think that's my problem with the review. It chose one questionable aspect of the film and beat it to death with a dead horse. What should have in the least have been a passing comment about the film's potential "preachy undertones" turned into a full blown rant, overshadowing any and all other subjects that could have been broached.

Most other reviews I have read sticks with the same point. It's just as annoying as people ranting on Avatar on being to pro green

 

[Delock]

So the person with the last copy of "Love thy neighbor" goes about slaughtering people with a sword? Is there any part in the movie where the main character acknowledges the irony of his actions? From the trailers I didn't think the book would be the bible, but now that I know it is, this movie seems a whole lot less interesting.

Read some of the older stuff. One guy summons bears to attack people. 42 people. http://www.cracked.com/article_15699_the-9-most-badass-bible-verses.html

As for the review, I'm still going to see it, but now my standards will atleast be lowered.

 

[Bouncing Ferret FIlm]

WOW, i get probation for being a smart you know what, and wait for the "spoiler" to be what is already really freaking obvious. Also I saw the movie and didn't get the same thing. I saw it more about FAITH than anything else, and faith can come in many many different forms. also, you should pay more attention to what's AROUND the last thing you see.

 

[PlasticLion]

Atheist, I guess I should throw that out there first. I also saw the movie after watching this review. Of course it was about a bible. And my opinion contains even worse spoilers than that.

At no point in this movie do you hear the voice of God nor do you see angels descend from heaven to tell Eli what to do. Eli explains how he got the bible but believing him is up to you.

Fun fact: In 1938 "War of the Worlds" was broadcast over the radio and people actually believed that aliens were invading. Because they believed what they were told without actually seeing it. And that is the story that is told about this broadcast; No one talks about the people who thought, "It's just a silly radio show."

Now MB has ruined this movie for anyone who might not have believed Eli. Because if you saw this review then you know that at no point does the movie refute that it is God. But as I watched the movie knowing this I asked myself what if they changed the story a little?

What if Eli was the soldier who pushed the button that started the end of the world? What if he felt so guilty about it that it drove him crazy, and he thought God was telling him to protect the bible as a way to atone for what he caused? I watched this movie knowing that MB said it was certainly God but it wasn't ever 100% certain. And my What If wasn't exactly impossible either. The end of the movie could have been what I just wrote and there would have been no continuity issues. At any point near the end it could have been shown that he was just crazy or even if he was crazy it was still part of God's plan.

This movie is only as black and white as what you bring to it. I brought a desire to debunk MB(I respect critics, but they really only have their own point of view). I found a movie that you may not enjoy but one that is not as simple as I was told it was. 'nuf said.

 

[EgonCom]

So it come to this... spoilers.

I'm cuite disapoointed with You Mr. Bob.
You manage to make all those reviews without spoiling anything,
and now look at yourself.

How miserable...

 

[haruvister]

Really, everyone should watch (and read) The Road instead of this. No kung-fu, but loads more going on - a moral core not based on some dumb book, for a start.

 

[ffxfriek]

this movie i hear is not only awesome but based off of religion. sooo methinks i must watch

 

[dead_rebel]

It would seem the only thing you comment on is how lame it is because the Bible is involved. You never fail to bring up some lame Christian reference (Veggie tales etc). Therefore it's my opinion that you're biased in your review and never really comment on any other aspect of the film quite as in depth as you do the "premise."

I don't think your review was quite as in depth or fair as I'd have hoped. Getting a second opinion on this one.

 

[Surggical_Scar]

Lots of words.

I'm behind you on this. I really, really liked The Book Of Eli, almost because of the plot. MovieBob didn't seem to distinguish between films with a Christian message (as he pointed out) and films which use Christianity and religion to make a moral point. This is by no means some kind of 'FEEL THE POWER OF THE LORD' propaganda film, it's a depiction of faith with the veneer stripped off. One man squanders it out of a self-serving fear of manipulation, the other wants to use it as a yoke to put around the neck of the people.

Each of these concepts is not only plausible, but actively happening right now. The Vatican and other religious bodies sit on religious texts that no-one else has ever had the chance to read, even obliterating texts that didn't fall into line with their own lines of thought.

For example, the Book of Eve was a depiction of the Bible which allowed far, far more sexual freedom than the typical Christian dogma. Thus, it was almost utterly destroyed, and the existence of the other copies is debatable at best.

But I digress. The Book Of Eli is a film that makes you work for this meaning. If you sit there and let it all wash over you, then yes, this film will seem a little one-dimensional, yes, some of the plot points will look rather weird, but just take a moment to step back and ask yourself:

'Is this a film, or a parable?'

*Spoilers everywhere now*

Think about it. A man of blind (hah) faith wandering the desert finds meaning for his travels only when his very faith is threatened. In doing so, he discovers that he was clinging to the materialistic vestiges of his faith rather than embracing the ideals it put forward.

Furthermore, a despotic, yet undeniably powerful man seeks to expand his power, sparking off a chain of events which he exacerbates, ultimately letting his pride and hubris destroy both himself and his influence. Am I the only one getting a whiff of Paradise Lost, there?

*No more spoilers*

Frankly, I never take MB's reviews all that seriously, but really...

 

[The Big Eye]

Waitaminnit. What the f*ck do you have against Veggie Tales?

 

[Jackel86]

So the person with the last copy of "Love thy neighbor" goes about slaughtering people with a sword? Is there any part in the movie where the main character acknowledges the irony of his actions? From the trailers I didn't think the book would be the bible, but now that I know it is, this movie seems a whole lot less interesting.

Sort of, yes. But instead of realizing killing people is bad, he realizes he should kill more people. It's actually not as ridiculous as it sounds when you consider the context. (He was originally trying to mind his own business as much as possible, even if it meant letting some girl get raped and murdered.)

I actually liked the movie. It wasn't the most amazing movie ever, but it really wasn't all that much worse than Daybeakers, which Bob practically creamed himself over. (I liked it too, btw.) I normally agree with the reviews, but this one was a little extra harsh. What's so unbelievable about a man of faith taking the last vestige of his religion so seriously? I will admit, the ending was pretty silly. (For the record, I'm an atheist. I'm just trying to be fair.)

Another thing I disagree with 100% is Mila Kunis. What have you seen where she was good? The last thing I remember was the abomination "Max Payne."

 

[flaming_squirrel]

I ignored the whole spoiler warning because I never want to see this movie, ever.

The second you watch one of the trailers it's fucking blindingly obvious what the book is so very any point forwards "fuck that for a game of chess", I'd rather save my money and spend that time watching D9 on dvd again rather then some bizzare mix of holier than thou religious bullshittery and violence.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

and i was hoping for a fallout 3 rip, i'll definitely be skipping this. Myself and organised religion do not mix well

 

[likalaruku]

Who knows, this could be 2010's first contribution to the 100 worst movies ever made.

 

[hypothetical fact]

So 2012 is great because it's complete shit while this is complete shit because it features a man that believes in god. Gonna have to agree with alot of other people, crap review that didn't cover other features, Bob was sermonising more than the movie, Bob needs to get over his issues before pushing them through his reviews.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Woah, woah, woah... Lemme get this straight: You're saying that she was 14 years old when playing Jackie in 'That 70's Show?' Wasn't she always on top of Ashton... or was it just me?

Yep, and I know why your actually going "woah woah woah", its because you just did a little sick in your mouth when hearing that the Hottie Jackie was actually 14 at the start of the show.

I didn't actually wanna nail her that bad until the later seasons. She looked much hotter to me in season five than season one.

I always thought there was something not quite right with her, back at the time I put it down to her character being attracted to Ashton Kushker or whatever that ugly face is named, but now I know its actually because she was young and he was also very ugly.

Oh and he can't act, he's in the Robert Pattison league of shit acting.