The Book of Eli

Some will kill to have it,
he will kill to protect it.

Same mistake like Legion,
this movie doesnt inject the plot deep enough in order to attract the viewers.

What a waste really, what a waste.
Book of Eli is not just another Post-Apocalyptic movie,

the message of the movie is there, it makes people think, but only for those who have the idea what end of civilization and armageddon are all about.

Okay, make it simple.

For those who believe in monotheism,
armageddon is about once last final battle between God and Satan.

For those who believe in multiple-gods,
it's about the judgement days.

For those who do not believe in any form of god,
it's about the extinct of human race.

You can list many movies about doomsday or armageddon,
but I tell you what,
most of the movie's ending shows that human live and mankind survive.

This has lead us to another sub-genre of the movie,
the post-apocalyptic story like I Am Legend or 28Days later.

A vacant city,
an empty street,
one man walking

That's post-apocalyptic.
Most of the movies play their story before and after the timeline of this event.

As most of these movies are made by Hollywood,
the filmmakers already assume that the viewers who watch these movies have the basic knowledge about armageddon,
and they shoot it from the Christianity angle always.

They dont tell much really,
no explanation, this and that.

It's not necessary.

After all, people are looking for the disaster scenes in armageddon movie,
~huge impact~

simply amaze to see Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty falls and drown.
and then people talk about how much they learned about ~love~ from the movie.

How naive?

Go back to the movie Book of Eli,
my comment to this movie is short and simple actually.

The story is nice but not powerful enough,
the movie is boring but the acting is good.

As I said, this is not just another post-apocalyptic movie,
this man, Denzel Washington a.k.a. Eli has a mission to complete.

Eli would kill and survive for the sake of Bible,
others live for the sake of extending their life.

Eli dont need a partner,
others are seeking for the survivors.

That's the different.

The interesting thing to discuss is the role of Bible in the movie,
it's being portrayed as a powerful food for Denzel Washington to survive,
it's also being portrayed as a disastrous weapon for Gary Oldman to rule the world.

Does it hint us that the American is using this weapon nowadays?

When the naive civilian are fighting for the food and fresh water,
Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman realized the power of Bible.

But it's ironic to reveal that Gary Oldman had read thousands of books which include DaVinci's Code,
but Denzel Washington only have to read one book~the Bible.

Obviously, this idea is showing the supremacy and sufficiency of Bible alone.
It doesnt really matter how many books you have read,
because the function of Bible is incomparable.

And if you realized,
the story did tell us another important message.
which is the activeness of God.

Some people think it is their own choice whether or not to believe in God,
and it is their choice whether or not to read the Bible.

Some might challenge and say,
'I refuse to believe in God, so what can You do about that?'

but they had forgotten the activeness of God.
in fact it is up to God to decide whether or not He want to show His mercy to save us.

He is the one who take the active role,
we are the one who take the passive role.

He is the one who give us chance to listen gospel,
but we are the one who have the freedom to believe in Him, or not.

Can you see that?

That's why,
if we do not doubt the activeness of God,
one should realize a fact.

When he/she refuse to listen gospel and thought they are controlling the game,
God on the other hand is the one who refuse to give them chance to listen gospel.

Ofcourse, ego people often cannot accept this hard fact,
they always think that they are in control,
no other people, not even God can affect their decision.

That's what happen to Gary Oldman in the end,
he get the Bible but it is written in Braille,
he couldnt read it eventhou he can touch it with his own hands and see it with his own eyes.

Same thing happen to us today, some naive people thought reading Bible only require knowledge, and their intention is bad.

But a child can probably understand The Bible more than a PHD do,

a PHD might have read it but he might not understand it.

just like Eli who only read one book can understand Bible more than Gary Oldman do, who have read thousands of books.

PRIOR element is

~whether or not God allow you to understand it~

You see,
it is not you to decide.

Okay, I've talk about the message of the movie,
but personally I think the movie doesnt inject this message into a certain depth.

Which is why,
people might get lost in the movie,
or dun even care to find the meaning of the movie.

Overall, it is boring.
But I admit, some(not all) of the brutal scenes are well-done.

When we are talking about acting, Denzel Washington maintain the quality as he always did,
no surprise frankly.

Gary Oldman is like an elder version of Johnny Depp,
you simply cant recognize him,
another nice move to hide yourself after you cheat The Joker once , Lieutenant James Gordon!!!