book of eli

[mimesere]

...that was an interesting movie experience. More thoughtful than I thought it would be.

Anyone up for discussing it?

Comments

[serrico.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it, but (for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture) I know the story, and I'm interested in hearing what you thought of it.

*curious*

[halfacork.livejournal.com]

Is it worth seeing?

I've been debating.

[polaris-starz.livejournal.com]

I'm curious to see this (for much the same reasons as my current interest in Supernatural and my interest in seeing Legion when it comes out); I'd be interested to hear what people thought of it.

[rattlecatcher.livejournal.com]

I plan to see it because hello, Tom Waits! If other reasons present themselves, that's just icing on a cake I would eat no matter what.

Um, is that too shallow, or just shallow enough?

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

I feel about it the same way I do about Watchmen, which is that it is something that makes me think and I respect that, but that there are so few likeable people that everything I'm experiencing is very intellectual and at a remove.

I really respect the fact that the Christianity wasn't proven to be right and unequivocal and that, ultimately, the value of the book was that it was a book that they didn't have and that it was treated equally with the Koran and the Torah and everything else. I also really respect that Mila Kunis' character didn't become like, a disciple or anything, and that Gary Oldman's character was well aware of the ways religion had been used to control people before and made explicit mention that that is what he wanted to use it for again.

One of the reasons I was most interested in seeing it was because the preview I had read last year talked about how Denzel Washington wasn't playing a good guy, but that he was playing someone as sketchy as his character in Training Day (which he was. there's one scene that turned the boy off the movie entirely and basically resulted in him not caring about Denzel's character because he could not possibly be redeemed from what he had done). I also really respected the fact that the movie itself was not preachy at all.

Mostly what I took away is that Denzel's character was, essentially, an old school paladin/crusader (or thought he was, anyway) with all the absolute sketchiness that comes along with that and that *he* believed, but the movie didn't comment on it one way or another.

Also it was beautifully filmed and the art direction was stunning. It was a surprisingly well thought out post apocalypse road trip and, well, that means I was inclined to like it anyway. And I do like movies about faith, even if I don't have any myself. The cast was good (I especially liked Jennifer Beals and Mila Kunis), the story was simplistic but not as infuriating as Avatar, and there were a lot of very nice touches that made me smile. Also, I really like the Hughes Brothers, Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, and Gary Oldman :)

So basically, taken as a movie about a sketchy guy doing sketchy things in the name of religion, I liked it intellectually. Which, uh, sounds like I'm daming it with faint praise, but I came out of it wanting to talk about the movie and that's relatively rare for me.

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

Part of why I saw it is 'cause Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis are both hot, so...just shallow enough :D!

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

I don't regret seeing it, but it really depends on how you feel about the conjunction of religion and sketchy people.

[mimesere.livejournal.com]

I liked it with reservations. I can absolutely see why people didn't/don't like it, but it is a movie that made me want to talk about it because it's not the easy religious movie I was expecting. I said more upthread :)

[serrico.livejournal.com]

it is something that makes me think and I respect that, but that there are so few likeable people that everything I'm experiencing is very intellectual and at a remove.

That was my take on the story/characters, too: that the story might have been compelling and thoughtful in places, might've had some good points to make (I also quite liked the one you pointed out below, that Oldman's character wasn't shy about viewing the Bible as a tool for controling others), but the people used to tell it kind of...discouraged sympathy or emotional engagement. Given how certain segments of the population *can't* interact unemotionally with religiously-slanted entertainment, I was curious as to how this one would be received.

I also really respect that Mila Kunis' character didn't become like, a disciple or anything

Ah, now, that--and the lack of preachiness you mention--are different from the way things were in the draft I read. Which is a *good* thing, and I'm glad *somebody* made those changes. *g*

So basically, taken as a movie about a sketchy guy doing sketchy things in the name of religion, I liked it intellectually.

Heh; faint praise or not, if it generates conversation, it's done its job. I've been waiting to see how it turned out, and how people responded to it, because the draft of the script I read *was* quite evangelical at times, enough so that I was surprised when Washington and Oldman attached themselves to it. (Not that I have any knowledge of their spirituality or lackthereof, but I didn't really see either of them as particularly Bible-thumpy--which at least one early draft of the script really was.) Plus, I wanted to see whether the Big Twist at the end made anybody cry foul. *g*