Saw The Book of Eli

I watched The Book of Eli today. It was surprisingly good. There is an undertone to the movie that I think most people will not get, sadly but it’s true. Most, I am sure by the tone of the movie and its trailers and advertising, assume the same as I did, that it is a morph of The Road Warrior, I am Legend and other apocalyptic stories. But it is less about that and more about religion and what it means to the world.

All through the story there are notions and comments as well as themes that point right to what religion provides for this world and what happens without. Over and over the main character finds people that have committed suicide, gave up on society and each other as well as turned pure cannibalistic and hedonistic with no focus on a deity or faith at all. They have either forgotten or turned from it in despair and allowed materialistic views and survival needs rule their lives.

Another underlying theme with the antagonist of the story is that some people DO realize what religion means to the world and can manipulate it for their own gain. Some lines refer to it specifically how the book, has been used in the past for the purpose of control and will be used again. How it is something people hold strong to and use and will follow anyone as long as what they say comes from the book. This referring to charlatans and what many refer to as antichrists or false prophets lead the way to showing all phases of Christianity and other religions that provide that one thing that man has searched for from the beginning of time: Why am I here?

The movie does a good job in relating the importance of religion and what it does to the mind if absent. The thought of just being molecules in space with no purpose other than to procreate is truly a depressing thought and truly reduces a person’s contributions and existence to an undue disrespected position in life in my mind. And the results of an apocalyptic change as this and trying to survive would truly provide these myriads of expectations given the different minds and wills at present in the world.

Once the Book of Eli was place don the shelf next to the Qur’an and other scientific and religious books, the story culminates itself to show its true meaning, to me anyway. There wasn’t just a sole individual of divine selection transgressing across Post Apocalyptic America to provide the world with a book, it was a person of divine selection providing the world with another form of peace and contentment as well as hope to live on and help one another. That’s the point of religion correct? Provide a place of solace and hope while showing a way to help other people MORE than yourself.

Although this was Christian based, as it is considered an American tale and the majority of Americans are currently Christian, it did truly focus on the Christian as it really waits until half way through the movie for one to finally put together it was about the Bible. I did notice however it was the New King James Version that made it, and not the regular King James. A nice twist there by the author as well.

I commend the script writer as this was a good story with enough intrigue and action to retain the action minded and fiction based viewers: But I applaud the writer for thinking deeper into the minds of humans and doing a true study not just on how people will react but WHY they will react the way they do. A person needs to understand and believe they are more than just surviving from day to day or why exist at all?

Thank you Gary Whitta for a good story and making some of us think a little instead of just a mind numbing experience of violence and explosions. Although it does not provide the full action most of this type of film look for, I think a person that likes to see symbolism and a little more thinking to a movie it is a good mix of both and not a bad see.