Escape to the Movies: Book of Eli

Druss the Legend

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Did anyone notice that we are only told by Denzel that God told him to do it, we don't actually hear or see anything from God.
God was no more of a character in this than in the Boondock Saints.
 

AvsJoe

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May 28, 2009
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Druss the Legend said:
Did anyone notice that we are only told by Denzel that God told him to do it, we don't actually hear or see anything from God.
God was no more of a character in this than in the Boondock Saints.
Yeah, but God is very rarely an actual character in a movie or work of fiction, and much less so in anything other than comedy (Bruce Almighty, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Bedazzled (the original), Oh God!, Family Guy...)
 

FlameUnquenchable

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There were other themes in the movie than God. It might have been an underlying theme, but it wasn't the only one. Disappointing Bob, especially because I saw this movie and took something away from it. Also, not a Christian, but that doesn't mean that we automatically toss a movie because it has some religious overtones.

Not everything has to be hip and ironic.
 

rpkone26

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Feb 19, 2011
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MovieBob overlooked one of the biggest parts of the movie that made ME go back and watch it again, there IS a twist at the end that makes everyone who actually paid attention to the small aspects of the movie go "...OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" this is a great movie. Don't NOT go see this movie because its "Religious". Religion plays a VERY small part during the first act. MovieBob, you could have reviewed this movie WITHOUT spoiling what the book was, I think you were rushed and didn't look into the movie AT ALL, and just labeled it as a bad, boring religious post apocalyptic tale.
 

okogamashii

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thornussell said:
Undercover said:
Thanks Bob, you just saved me ten bucks.

As soon as I heard the "spoiler" which to be honest wasn't really a spoiler, my interest in this movie was reduced to just slightly below zero.

Considering that religion is the second most popular reason for all the wars, misery, death and destruction in the world next to greed, (but then the two go hand in hand) it would only make sense to rid the world of religion, but of course we can't have that now, can we?

There always has to be SOMEONE trying to shove God down everyone's throat, no matter how subtly.

Ok all you "Christians" out there, let me have it, I know you want to.

I'll warn you though, I know more about theology than you think I do and if you aren't prepared for an intelligent, informed rebuttal, I wouldn't recommend getting into it with me.

Besides, this is a movie review not a religious discussion.
Even if religion was removed (pretty much impossible) the world would find something else to fight over. And you complained about people trying to shove god down your throat well i have met atheists who try even harder to shove nothing down my throat.
You know why greed and religion go hand in hand? Because they both involve humans. Religion doesn't make you greedy, being human does. Not saying of course that all people are greedy, but yeah.
 

okogamashii

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MovieBob said:
Book of Eli

This week MovieBob throws the book at Eli.

Watch Video
MovieBob, don't take the personal attacks to heart. Religion is a sensitive topic for many people, and oftentimes things get wildly out of hand very quickly. Even though I disagree with this review, and a few others, I always enjoy watching, and this one was no exception.
 

NeoGuardian86

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Mar 26, 2011
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This has got to be the one review i strongly disagreed with him. and i'm not even Christian - i'm Muslim.

The fact that it was the Bible struck a chord with me, even if speaking for myself i don't necessarily believe everything in it, as i personally follow the Quran. unconsciously i saw it as my own book. and i did not even feel it was shoving it down my throat that it was the Bible, or that occasionally he'd briefly quote it. Rather i saw it as Eli's conviction in his faith and the ability to keep with his mission.

For **** sake, is that all there is to complain about? Can there be one good movie that has this sort of spin on religion or no? not possible, not allowed?
Either bash religion in some negative light, or not have it play any part at all except in some superficial manner, those are the only two acceptable options, EVER.

and i'm not a bit surprised that the non-religious, agnostics, and atheists typically hate this movie far more then anyone of any other theist thought.

and as much as i don't even like Kirk Cameron all that much, he totally nailed it when he said years ago why he left the industry to begin with, just judging by how many posts in agreement here on this thread.


No i don't think it's an epic tale, the way i saw it, it was Fallout (sidequest) : The Movie. the fact that religion played a role i saw coming, and it didn't bother me in the slightest - in the way it was handled. It was a great journey film, lots of action, great cinematography, a nice twist on the fact that he is blind, and all that amazing **** he just did was while the dude was blind. Not to mention the villain getting screwed.

He's one of the few men who can read, but when he gets the book he can't read the book because it's in Braille.

As lame as that might sound to some of you out there, i thought that was brilliant.
 

NeoGuardian86

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AdamaGeist said:
My honest statement. I've made this comment before, and I'll make it again.

If you have or understand faith, you will adore this movie. If you do not, you will not understand it.

I know, that's pretty lame, but that's the truth of it. Because the entire movie is about faith. Faith is Eli's purpose. Faith is what Carnegie wants to exploit.

I went in despite Bob's review, and I absolutely loved this movie. I will be getting it on DVD when it comes out.

Really, this movie isn't about the action, the violence, or the visuals. It's about a man's journey of faith, and how he realizes that he went wrong somewhere along the way. It's about how an innocent voice can cause us to question what we believe and by doing so renew ourselves. And it's about how blind faith can be abused.

Even in the villain this is shown, in how Carnegie throws away EVERYTHING he has in order to get a single book, solid in the belief that what it'll gain him is worth all that he's lost. But in the end he loses everything, including his own life.

Come on, you can't actually expect him to survive all that? Gangrenous leg, rebellious population, abandoned by the one surviving member of his crew?

The depth was not in the story, but in the execution. Meaning was more important than twists. The characters were archetypes for a reason.
I agree with you, i happily got the Blu-Ray. and to boot, I'm not even Christian, like i said in my original post, i'm Muslim.

I'm a fairly observant one, but i don't live my entire life around it.

Legally before the law, and socially i'm quite liberal in my stances. huge Sci-Fi fan, love video games, movies, I love to travel. routinely read history.

But i also have faith.
 

almostgold

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Jus saw this movie and looked up the review after. And you know what "MovieBob"? I loved the premise. Not enough movies about God today. I say bravo to the writers for daring to make something in Hollywood with a strong, good Christian message.
 

Riopato

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Apr 19, 2011
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Is it really a Christian message? Yes, the "hero" is no doubt a christian. But is his mission about spreading the Word or is it to simply make sure that the Word isn't totally lost.
 

Riopato

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Druss the Legend said:
Did anyone notice that we are only told by Denzel that God told him to do it, we don't actually hear or see anything from God.
God was no more of a character in this than in the Boondock Saints.
Exactly! No where in the movie does Eli mention that God spoke to him. He specifically said a voice told him to go west. That could mean he heard it on the radio he was carrying (no not the mp3 player silly), or the last person alive before he left, or he told himself too knowing that this Book must be preserved.
 

Riopato

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Apr 19, 2011
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First time I've seen any of Bob's review. This guy's a DICK and pretty much very ignorant of something that is possibly very unique for a scfi thriller.
 

Fake Nicker

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Mar 31, 2010
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Not a singel person in here gets this movie.... especially MBob! Its not about god, faith or any kind of specific religion. Its about power and what you do with that power. As the bad guy says "the book holds power and binds people". He doesnt belive one shit about god or whats in the book. He just wants the hold it has on people. As he also says "it has bound people before" And thats just one view of how religion is. The point of him being "evil" does not have anything to do with the "devil" or that he is against "gods will" its that he wants to use something for power for his own.'

Its not even about Eli and that he thinks he hears god. That is about power also, but the power over the induvidual and how "faith" in what ever they belive in,can drive people to unknown heights, but also how it can make people abandon them selfs and pursue something totally nonsense. Again power.

God isnt even present in this movie! Only one who says so is Eli and hes semi crazy.

Also this is emphazised in the end when the book gets put aside all the other religions. The book and the faith it defines is not the point because they get small and unimportant in that shelf besides all the others... its about what they repreasent.

Shame on you Mbob for being so god damn shallow
 

numbersix1979

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Jun 14, 2010
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So the only way religion can be feasibly portrayed in film is as the cover for something else, symbolism, or a joke? Give me a break, Bob. Besides, it's not like God appears in the clouds like Mufasa or some shit. God isn't an active participant in the conflict, though Eli's faith is. Also, I was under the impression that the point of the movie was that The Book was more of a MacGuffin than anything else, something for the main cast to be driven by. Washington wants purpose in his life, Kunis wants to find adventure outside by following the book, and Oldman wants the power it is rumored to possesses. But this of course can't POSSIBLY be the case, because religion is played straight in this movie. Whatever.
 

krellen

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Jan 23, 2009
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The book is utterly unimportant to the movie; it doesn't matter what it is. That's not the "twist", and it's not the point. The point is having something to believe in - a goal, a purpose. The only people that do in this movie are those that believe in something; Oldman believes in himself, Washington believes in his book, and Kunis believes in Washington.

It's revealed to be the Bible because it had to be something, and the Bible is as good a symbol for belief as any we have in our culture. But it could just as easily have been the Constitution, or the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, or the Gettysburg Address (conceptually it couldn't be any of these, because they're too short, but the idea is the same); it just had to be something that conveyed a sense of purpose and direction to the character of Eli.

The only people to whom the Bible is important is Eli, as the centre of his reason for being (demonstrated by his death after passing it along) and the caretaker of the library, who values it as lost knowledge and not as any sacred relic (it's filed right along other holy books and given no special place of reverence in the library).

I think Bob got caught up on the "oh, it's the Bible" thing and retroactively forgot the entire rest of the movie. This has nothing to do with theism, atheism, agnosticism or any other religious creed. This is just a reviewer tired of movies preaching at him, thinking a movie preached at him, and grumping about it; sadly, this mad him miss the actual movie itself, which is about the journey, not the destination.

As an aside, I especially enjoyed this movie once I identified the visuals as being probably as close to Fallout: the Movie as we will ever see.
 

RJ Dalton

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I know that it's really after the fact and that probably nobody's ever going to see this comment, but I think you're wrong here, Bob. I think you could make an engaging film where God is an active participant in the plot, but you'd have to shift the emphasis away from "what happens" to "why it happens and who's doing it." Make it about the characters and their motives more than what they actually do and it could still be interesting.

I do not actually expect that this movie did that, though. It doesn't look any good.
 

Fensfield

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Nov 4, 2009
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So... I suddenly want to see this film / think the premise sounds kind of cool.

And I never heard of it before, either.

Huh.

.. Okay late to the party, too >.>
 

George Fatu

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Sep 20, 2010
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aah the bible, the best fantasy fiction book ever, which tells the tales of fathers having the right to sell their daughters into slavery and naughty rascally children be stoned to death(and not the drugs kind of stoned), and if u think i am making this up then read the damn thing
 

lastoflancas

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Aug 17, 2009
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>Go to last page of the review that's the most heated (somewhat(

>See analytical discussions from (supposedly) non-Christians defending the movie

>Thread ends with rude atheistic comment

http://images.sodahead.com/profiles/0/0/3/0/2/8/6/7/1/I-dont-want-to-live-on-this-planet-anymore-97176211932.jpeg