The Book of Eli starts out with a bang, but ends with a whimper. Not even the M. Night Shyamalan-like twist at the end can save this movie from its preachy plot.

The film takes place 30 years after war has left the earth barren and lifeless. It follows Eli (Denzel Washington), a man whose has been chosen by god to carry the only remaining bible to the west coast. His journey takes him to small town where some of America's only remaining survivors have taken refuge. There, the town's deranged and power hungry leader Carnegie (Gary Oldman) wants to take Eli's rare text and use it to convince the disheartened population of Earth to follow him. Eli refuses and he, along with his newfound friend Solara (Mila Kunis), must try to get the book to its final destination before Carnegie can stop them.

At the start of The Book of Eli I was optimistic. It was the story of a quiet drifter, traveling alone in a post-apocalyptic world, mercilessly killing the hijackers that got in his way. It felt like a modern day Road Warrior, but as the movie progressed I saw less and less of Mad Max in Eli.

After the first half hour Eli rarely shows off his fighting abilities and instead, shifts to show off his bible reciting abilities. While I have nothing against Eli's affinity for the sacred book, it seemed out of place in movie that sells itself as action-packed. Eli's personality is almost non-existent, leaving you with little emotional connection to him, since almost everything he says and does is related to his holy mission.

The plot, while a little heavy on it's preaching of the bible's importance, isn't terrible. It's a unique tale, and while it lacks the fun of movies like the Mad Max trilogy or the drama of films like The Road, it does help to give it some originality. Eli's world has been crafted from scratch, with subtle hints as what happened to our planet and it's cause for destruction that really gives the movie some much-needed life. The film's final twist though, while unexpected and surprising, is also pretty unbelievable, making you question everything that happened in the previous two hours and whether or not any of it was even possible.

In a world with little scenery the characters have even more expectations to live up to. A film like Avatar can rest on its effects, but The Book of Eli has little very little left of an ecosystem to fall back on. Eli is really the only character that seems to be out of place in the movie, which is unfortunate since he is the main protagonist. His character's preachy attitude and lack of personality makes him bland, thankfully an actor with talent like Washington was in his shoes to breathe some life into the soulless persona. It's Oldman's Carnegie and his band of followers that steal the show though. He seems truly evil, doing all he can to gain power in a helpless world. And while Eli's character lacks heart, Carnegie's character is truly heartless, doing whatever he can for his own personal gain.

Had The book of Eli kept to it's action packed beginnings and gave Eli a little more life it would have been an excellent film. It had a descent plot, an original world and some excellent actions to back it up. Unfortunately, The Book of Eli relies too much on its mild title character and a twist ending that leaves you with more questions than answers.

GRADE: C+

Phot used with permission of Warner Brothers

By Nick Baker