SOME WILL KILL TO HAVE IT. HE WILL KILL TO PROTECT IT.
Some time after a nuclear catastrophe, Eli (Denzel Washington) arrives in a small town run by Carnegie’s (Gary Oldman) vicious gang; when they learn that Eli has a very powerful book they do everything to grab it. The Hughes Brothers’ first movie in nine years has a surprise – they’ve found religion. This post-apocalyptic thriller is a typical genre exercise, with a lone stranger whose journey we follow. Reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name, Washington is just as solid a hero as Oldman as a villain, but the movie as a whole is tepid.
2010-U.S. 118 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes. Cast: Denzel Washington (Eli), Gary Oldman (Carnegie), Mila Kunis (Solara), Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Frances de la Tour… Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Malcolm McDowell.
Trivia: Kristen Stewart was allegedly considered for a role.