Every actor gets to a point where they want to do a vanity project simply for vanity's sake. Book of Eli is Denzel Washington's vanity project. Washington, the son of a Pentecostal preacher, plays the protagonist in the film who carries a shotgun and a sword, but his main weapon is his faith.

Gary Oldman's menacing antagonist, Carnegie, is after Eli, in order to get his book. Not just any book, but the last known Bible in existence. Eli spends the film warding off cannibals and Bible enthusiasts, all in a post apocalyptic wasteland. And not just any post apocalyptic wasteland, but the exact post apocalyptic wasteland from The Road.

That's right, everything from the washed out, colorless scenery to the cannibalistic trappings is replicated almost exactly in The Book of Eli.  And it's not like there haven't been post apocalyptic movies before. There have been so many...too many to name. With these two films released so close together, it's hard not to notice the glaring similarities. There's even a scene in each film where the protagonists are on a shore and the exact same capsized ship is in each movie. How blatant is that?

Film-jacking and scene piracy aside, The Book of Eli simply is not as captivating or exciting as the trailers would have you believe. The action scenes are awkward and wholly unrealistic, while the story itself is trite and boring. Washington gives us the standard performance, staying well within his wheelhouse, making zero attempt to make his character relatable or worth rooting for. There is absolutely nothing original in, about, or around this film. And, as I stated previously it is a vanity project and nothing more (is vanity still considered a sin?).

Had the filmmakers made some more bold and innovative choices, The Book of Eli could have been a moderately entertaining picture. Choices like: creating a dystopic future that hasn't already been done to death. Making the journey a bit more harrowing. Firing Mila Kunis (no offense, since I actually enjoy her comedic performances; she simply wasn't right for this role).

Now I'm just a simple, small town internet critic, but I do believe that the Hollywood execs behind this film could've done better. To me, this is an example of a movie made by committee. Too much input and not enough agreement, so we get a mish-mash of a film that simply borrows from it's predecessors, without so much as a thank you.

Do yourself a favor and see The Road or rent Escape From New York.  At least you can enjoy the dystopic landscape, without feeling like you're being sermonized to.