You know, you have to hand it to Denzel Washington. The man's going to be 56 years old this year, and he just keeps on headlining. He even takes on physical roles like this one in his latest movie, "The Book of Eli". Yep...and I keep on paying to see his movies, too. Mostly to marvel that the man can still do it, but Denzel is always solid. Always.
So, if you've caught the trailers for this one, you would see Denzel walking across the a destroyed landscape ala Mad Max, and it's obvious he has something that Gary Oldman wants. From the title, you would gather it is a book, and you would be correct. What Denzel's mission is, and what the book is, I'll leave to you to discover (though the book should be fairly obvious, considering the title of the movie).
What's important in this film though, is that Denzel is on a mission. A mission he believes in with his heart and soul, and he will not let anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) stop him from his mission. What his mission is, is his business, but let me tell you, woe betold anyone who tries to stop Denzel from achieving his goal. You think he was serious in "Crimson Tide"? You have no idea how serious this man is in this movie. He is dead serious, and you'd be nuts to take him on, or try and take his book, believe me.
So, how about the acting? Denzel is solid, as always. I mean seriously, when have you walked out of movie, and mumbled to the person next to you "Man, Denzel was really ass in this movie?" (P.S. you may want to make sure you know who the person next to you is, when you mumble that...it might actually be Denzel...stranger things have happened...though Denzel has never been ass, so you won't mumble it, anyway). Gary Oldman is his usual charismatic scenery-chewing villain as the leader of the small town who really, REALLY wants Denzel's book. Mila Kunis...okay, I'm going to go off on a rant here...on a separate paragraph. Seriously, this needs to be addressed.
You know, a lot of young actors these days are crap. Seriously. I have now seen Mila Kunis play a bitch on "That 70's Show", I've seen her try and be the protagonist's sidekick in "Max Payne", and now once again, she's the sidekick, though a tad more feisty, in this film. You know what? It might be the writing, and it might be the editing, but she comes off as incredibly bland. She tries, I'll give her points for that, but mostly, she's just there. Oh, and she needs to gain weight. You read that right. Gain weight. She is painfully thin. She turns sideways, and looks like a toothpick. Now, I don't know the *ahem* tastes of the people reading this blog, but let me tell you, Stephenstein does not find a toothpick attractive.
So now, let's move on to the ending. J-Man informed me that Ebert said the ending was so implausible, it is to be seen to be believed. Okay, I saw the ending. Was it surprising? Yes. Was it Sixth Sense game-changing I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Butter crazy? No. The ending did not make me re-evaluate the entire film in a new light. It was a leap of faith, no doubt, and it did sort of put things, including the main character, in a slightly different light...but I wasn't destroyed. I mean, we're talking about a world where there was a nuclear war that ripped a hole in the ozone layer, and caused the sun's rays to come in and burn everything...I think plausibility has now officially left the building. So, ending good, not great, and certainly did not destroy me.
In the end though, this is a solid movie, that is worth seeing at least once. Will this be a purchase? At this juncture, I'm saying no. I appreciate Denzel's character, and his resolve, and his mission, and I'm always good to see Gary Oldman yelling and screaming, but in the end, one viewing is probably good enough for me.
Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I bid thee a fond goodnight.
- Stephenstein
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