The Book of Eli

Play trailer

The Book of Eli

R

Released Jan 15, 2010

1h 52m

Adventure

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

206 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

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

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Directors Albert and Allen Hughes lean into the allegorical elements, making it a badlands spaghetti western by way of a holy mission and a science fiction frontier thriller that embraces the possibility of miracles.

Mar 20, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Shane O

Not a terrible film but let down badly by the ending , it really bothered me that in a world with no even a drop of shampoo left that Mila Kunis had brand new ray ban’s and her cloths were perfect. Worth a watch but nothing to get excited about

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

Full Review

rashid W

This film couldn’t be made today surprised it ever got made. Very good and watchable film. Good verse evil old school. Western vibes in modern wasteland etc. watch it. I can understand why critics down voted it as you make a movie about anything but the Bible 🤣.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

Full Review

Chris B

This always gets compared to and sidelined by the likes of The Road, but it's a different concept altogether. Whereas The Road is about survival only, this is about having a greater purpose than that, a fairytale of hope if you like. And it has action and plot twists if you like that sort of thing in your post apocolyptic wasteland entertainment.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/25

Full Review

Shaun R

If you like the twist, you’ll like this film. If you hate the twist, you hate this film. Let down massively at the end.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/25

Full Review

Crystal B

This movie was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! What a plot twist at the end. In 2024 I'm still finding myself talking about how well written this movie was. No one could have played the role of Eli better than Denzel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/19/24

Full Review

Korra N

A great world is unfortunately squandered on a mediocre story with some mediocre characters, but Denzel, Don Burgess' cinematography, The Hughes Brothers' direction & Atticus Ross' score elevate the material.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Allen Hughes

Director

Albert Hughes

Director

Denzel Washington

Eli

Gary Oldman

Carnegie

Mila Kunis

Solara

Ray Stevenson

Redridge

The Man With the Iron Fists

51%

40%

The Man With the Iron Fists

Watchlist

Hitman: Agent 47

8%

40%

Hitman: Agent 47

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Hitman: Agent 47

Pathfinder

8%

36%

Pathfinder

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Pathfinder

Apocalypto

65%

79%

Apocalypto

Watchlist

Rambo

38%

69%

Rambo

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Denzel Washington’s Best Movies

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Book of Eli and Youth in Revolt

Critics Consensus: The Book of Eli Is a So-So Read

Denzel Washington Coolest Lines Mashup

2:00

View more videos

View more photos

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
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

Most Popular at Home Now