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This 2010 Denzel Washington Sci-Fi Film is Still One of the Best Post-Apocalypse Stories Ever Told
There’s even a new TV series in the works from Star Wars standout John Boyega.
There’s pretty much no role that Denzel Washington can’t absolutely nail, and it’s his performance, alongside a small handful of other acting greats, that still makes The Book of Eli (streaming here on Peacock) such a persistently compelling watch — even nearly 15 years on from the original post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie’s 2010 release.
Starring Washington as the movie’s titular sightless and solo warrior of virtue, The Book of Eli spins a simple, parable-like tale with a decidedly Western slant, one that slashes far above the movie's slender story weight. Credit for that can be liberally spread across the film’s core cast, which features Gary Oldman as the cynically evil Bill Carnegie, a relic of the pre-apocalypse who harbors grandiose visions of ruling amid America's bombed-out nuclear ruins. Mila Kunis stands out, too, as Solara — a post-bomb youngling caught up in Carnegie’s control schemes who’s instinctively drawn to Eli’s spiritually plugged-in mission.
The Book of Eli: Denzel Washington delivers the goods with a simple sci-fi story
What’s the mission? That’s where The Book of Eli’s skeletal story — crafted by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writing veteran Garry Whitta — pares back to reveal a sci-fi fable’s simplicity. Washington’s faith-driven hero is toting what might just be the world’s last remaining Bible, hoofing it alone across the blasted landscape toward the holy book’s final destination — a place he’s never been or seen, and beckoning Eli only through a divinely-placed impulse that whispers to him that he’ll know it when he finds it.
Of course, things go sideways once Eli strolls into Carnegie’s ramshackle town, as Carnegie — a literate guy with a misanthrope’s appreciation for the more pragmatic, people-persuading powers of faith — discovers that Eli is carrying just the sort of religious tome that could give him a leg up on hoarding his human subjects’ loyalty. Conflict ensues, with Eli (who’s revealed to be blind) showing a preternatural gift for swift and decisive violence, the kind of sixth-sense combat mastery that should resonate with fans of the classic blind-swordsman Zatoichi films or even Marvel’s Daredevil.
Carnegie ends up wresting the Good Book away from Eli, but Eli still manages to flee the sketchy scene. With Solara’s aid, he eventually scrapes westward all the way to San Francisco, where a nice cross-cut story beat reveals the prized Bible to be all but worthless for Carnegie’s purposes since — surprise! — it’s entirely written in braille. Good thing, then, that Eli’s been meditating on its lessons for an indeterminate number of years. From Genesis to Revelation, he’s able to dictate from memory the whole King James Bible to a learned enclave of culture preservers, builders who’re launching their civilization-reshaping efforts from the (relative) post-apocalyptic safety of Alcatraz island.
So what’s up with The Book of Eli TV series?
His mission complete, Eli dies at the movie’s end, though the film closes on an open note that suggests Solara’s spiritual journey might only just be beginning. While a movie sequel never arrived to explore that idea further, recent Hollywood movements have nevertheless revived The Book of Eli’s promise as a potential franchise starter.
To be more specific, there’s a small-screen series currently in the works that’s based on The Book of Eli, this time with recent ex-Star Wars Stormtrooper John Boyega set to play the leading role. Deadline reported earlier this year that Boyega is signed on as an executive producer and will play a "younger version of Washington’s Eli" in the series, which, like the movie itself, will reunite Whitta (as a co-creator, writer, and executive producer) with the Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society, From Hell), who helmed the original 2010 film.
From Twisted Metal to Fallout and far beyond, tattered wastelands are all the genre rage these days. But the devastated, sepia-tinged desert that tests Washington’s mettle in The Book of Eli remains a uniquely stark and sun-seared place — the perfect backdrop, in other words, for Denzel’s faith-fueled solo quest to keep faith’s flame alive.
Stream The Book of Eli on Peacock here. Still can’t get enough of the post-apocalypse? Check out Anthony Mackie in Twisted Metal (stream it here!), Peacock’s own hilariously bombed-out original sci-fi series.
