The Book of Eli
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: January 15, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
14
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The film looks and feels good, and Washington's performance is the more uncanny the more we think back over it. The ending is "flawed," as we critics like to say, but it's so magnificently, shamelessly, implausibly flawed that (a) it breaks apart from the movie and has a life of its own, or (b) at least it avoids being predictable. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The Book of Eli works, even if the preservation of Christianity isn’t high on your personal post-apocalypse bucket list. Establishing its storytelling rules clearly and well, the film simply is better, and better-acted, than the average end-of-the-world fairy tale. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin Wilson
Washington is surprisingly persuasive as a world-weary blade-wielder, and Oldman makes the most of a not particularly interesting villain. But the film's breakout star may be Kunis, who brings to Solara a blend of sassiness and sexiness that's reminiscent of Michelle Pfeiffer. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Though not as lyrical as "The Road," which benefits from both its visual artistry and its humanist perspective, The Book of Eli employs the genre conventions of the western to make mythic its principal character. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Its hero may be on a mission from above, but in a refreshing twist, the fate of mankind rests with the literate. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A dynamic story, sprinkled with some interesting ideas about the preciousness of culture and how societies might rebuild themselves. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Its over-the-top violence is cartoonish at times, menacing at others - which is a good thing. And truly, if one must wander a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape with somebody, who better to wander with than Denzel Washington? Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderCliff Doerksen
The sepia-toned palette gets a little wearying, but the dialogue is hilarious, the violence is crunchy, and cameos by Tom Waits and topflight Brit character actor Michael Gambon are worth the ticket price alone. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
The Book of Eli takes the violent, gritty feel of a spaghetti western, marries it with elements of "The Road," places it in the future and gives it a spiritual twist. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Washington doesn’t look as if he’s having much fun, and who can blame him? Perhaps he agrees with me: Apocalypse movies, like apocalypse heroes, need some laughs, too. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Much has been made of the film's ending, vis-à-vis whether or not it's a pro- or anti-organized religion commentary of some sort. The Hughes Brothers, for two, say they just wanted to make a kickass piece of contemporary entertainment, and I, for one, believe them. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The problem with The Book of Eli is that the narrative isn't a match for its sentiments. The script feels like it's an iteration or two short of a final draft. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The Book of Eli isn't as exciting or funny or inspiring as it wants and needs to be, and its preachy ending is an ordeal. But Washington, a movie star who can act, is one cool dude who is worth following anywhere. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A hyper-violent, post-apocalyptic Western in the mold of "Mad Max" that can't make up its mind whether it wants to be corny or misanthropic. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
The film’s cool-looking desaturated look (not unlike “The Road”), plentiful action and Washington’s charismatic gravitas as the taciturn hero make it relatively easy to overlook the pretensions and implausibilities in the script. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The Hughes Brothers' measured, well-paced direction complements the comic-book simplicity of this narrative. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
The movie keeps you watching and generally engaged. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Somewhat entertaining, in its own little mud-brown way. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
This makes "Eli" sort of wonderfully silly toward the end, as if the Hughes brothers set out to make the first-ever faith-based "Mad Max" movie. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Some mordant comic touches would have been welcome throughout the picture, which has a somber tone that suffers a bit from lack of modulation and nuance. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
The Book of Eli's plastic parable isn't much more advanced than "Insane Clown Posse" theology. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Whatever its virtues, Eli is a movie that can’t help but suffer in comparison to the much-delayed and much better "Road." Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The Book of Eli is “The Road’’ with twice the plot, four times the ammunition, and half the brains; it’ll probably make 10 times the money. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Yet it all comes down to one simplistic idea, and the result feels like a one-film evangelical movement. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The story requires a greater leap of faith than I was willing or able to muster, since Eli is also a saintly pilgrim on a God-given mission to save a ruined world. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
So we're back on "The Road ," but this time Eli's coming – better hide your heart and, while you're at it, put your brain on hold, the easier to enjoy the action-filled sermon to come. Read full review
50
PremiereMichael Mariani
Starts out strong and boasts a convincing picture of the post-war world as an anarchic desert. But it comes to ditch its fun stylization for vague themes of religiosity and morality, leaving you with a disappointingly muddled movie. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith Uhlich
For a few brief moments, the film becomes something close to Greek mythology, as opposed to graphic-novel imitator. What a feeling! Read full review
40
EmpireKim Newman
Mad Max 2 with Thought for the Day thrown in. There’s some ace post-holocaust action, but you can’t help feel you were invited to a party with fizzy pop and cream cake and got suckered into a sermon instead. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A didactic and humorless Western, Eli is too laborious for an action film and too brutal to be an inspirational tale. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A ponderous dystopian bummer that might be described as "The Road Warrior" without car chases, or "The Road" without humanity. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There is also a last-minute "Sixth Sense" twist, although it definitely won't make you sit through the movie again to see if the filmmakers cheated. Read full review
20
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The Book of Eli combines the maximum in hollow piety with remorseless violence. [18 Jan. 2010, p.82]
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