365 Days. 365 Films.

When it comes to ‘end of the world’ films, I prefer to actually see the end of the world, this film managed to escape the big budget special effects with a simpler story about a man called Eli (Denzel Washignton) traipsing around the barren landscapes, clutching onto a bible. The plot is based around Eli and his precious book as he tries to find someone who needs it more than him. The bad guy, in this instance played by Gary Oldman, has been looking for a bible all his life since, before some sort of nuclear war, people decided to have a bible bonfire. Eli’s copy is the only copy left on Earth, and Carnegie (Oldman) seems to think that if he had the book, he would be able to grow his fascist community.
I thought the premise of the film was a little unimaginative and fairly predictable. The script is pretty basic and too much follows the conventions of this genre for it to stand out in any way, yet the redeeming factor of it is the surprisingly creative use of cinematography. Again, it’s nothing special and it felt like the filmmakers were trying too hard to make it a Michael Bay style action film, yet it never came close. Having said that, the ‘action’ sequences were filmed rather well, although seemingly out of place.

The acting was another redeeming factor, obviously Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are great actors and they suited their parts well. Mila Kunis also stars as Eli’s right-hand woman and she really shone through as the best actor and character in the film. Kunis plays Solara, the stepchild of Carnegie, who wants to get out of the small post-apocalyptic town where she lives with him and her mother. She feels she would be safer to travel the road with Eli, but Eli, being a bit of a loner, tries to shun her to no avail and they become friends (aww). The film seems well set up for a sequel by the end with a shot of Solara resembling Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, donning her iPod (Apple will surely survive the apolcalypse) and setting off down the road again.

I don’t think I will recommend this film or even commit it to memory, the best praise I can give it is that it’s an average film with one or two ‘good bits’ but if they do happen to make a sequel all respect will be lost for those few redeeming gems. The film did receive a 6.8 rating on IMDB.com which implies it’s slightly above average, so you may have to watch it for yourself to judge.