The Book of Eli

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The Book of Eli

R

Released Jan 15, 2010

1h 52m

Adventure

Action

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

207 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Thirty years after war turned the world into a wasteland, a lone warrior named Eli marches across the ruined landscape, carrying hope for humanity's redemption. Only one other man understands the power of what Eli carries and he is determined to take it for himself. Though Eli prefers peace, he must risk death to protect his precious cargo, to fulfill his destiny to help restore mankind.

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Critics Consensus

It's certainly uneven, and many viewers will find that its reach exceeds its grasp, but The Book of Eli finds the Hughes brothers injecting some fresh stylish fun into the kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland filmgoers have seen more than enough of lately.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

This picture is one big waste of time, including that of the actors and those in the audience who pay to see it.

Jan 16, 2018

Full Review

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

The Book Of Eli is just one hot mess with choppy biblical undertones... The filmmakers just tried to get too deep with something that was not fully developed.

Rated: D+

Sep 11, 2017

Full Review

Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Post-apocalypse films are a dime a dozen, so what makes The Book of Eli so different? Not much, except an evangelical subplot that is not strong enough to be this film's savior.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 8, 2016

Full Review

Sharai Bohannon

A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast

This is too predictable and unfun to be worth most of these actors time. Denzel Washington gives a performance worth noting, but it's not enough to save the movie from itself.

Rated: 2/5

May 23, 2025

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The most admirable aspect of the production is its use of Washington in a samurai-esque role.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 25, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

A violent action spectacle. [Full review in Spanish]

Oct 26, 2022

Full Review

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Griffith J.

It all hangs on one concept that is not well executed. Luckily, the bleak world building, saturated look, & brutal Western tone save it. A great score, powerful performances, bold themes, & an excellent use of silhouettes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/14/25

Full Review

mop h

Spoilers! Would have given it 5 stars except for that last part where she becomes the lone traveller. Feels like a hastily pasted on, test audience reaction cop out.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/02/25

Full Review

Fred T

Absolutely loved this movie. Cannot fault it. One of the best ive ever seen. Thought it slipped into a tiresome trope and was pleasantly surprised. Watch if u havent.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

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Stephen C

Wonderful drama in 1 hour and 52 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

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CT 8

A decent movie overall. I do understand the critics disdain however. They’d have preferred a movie featuring two guys in a ‘biblical’ relationship as opposed to a movie with biblical overtones.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/29/25

Full Review

Hamilton C

This film is beautiful, well acted and entertaining. The snob critics don't like it because of its biblical overtones, but I'm confident this will develop into a cult classic. The film is not without some issues, particularly the main twist which some will find unbelievable, but I think in the context of the plot it works. Because I've always enjoyed this film I give it a personal 9/10, but for most audiences I think it's a 8/10 film. The fight choreography and gun play are excellent, the visuals are stark, the characters are believable and interesting. Give it a watch, you won't regret it, this is an under sung Denzel Washington film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

Full Review

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Allen Hughes

Director

Albert Hughes

Director

Denzel Washington

Eli

Gary Oldman

Carnegie

Mila Kunis

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Ray Stevenson

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Synopsis

Thirty years after war turned the world into a wasteland, a lone warrior named Eli marches across the ruined landscape, carrying hope for humanity's redemption. Only one other man understands the power of what Eli carries and he is determined to take it for himself. Though Eli prefers peace, he must risk death to protect his precious cargo, to fulfill his destiny to help restore mankind.

Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Producer: Joel Silver, Denzel Washington, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, David Valdes
Screenwriter: Gary Whitta
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Silver Pictures
Rating: R (Some Brutal Violence|Language)
Genre: Adventure, Action, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $94.8M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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