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The Book of Eli

Play trailer Poster for The Book of Eli R Released Jan 15, 2010 1h 52m Adventure Action Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 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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The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
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 Ryan W Tried to be deep, but came off as cringe and embarrassing. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/18/25 Full Review Mr P Christ. It's interminable. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/12/25 Full Review Amirhossein S That was a waste of time! It seemed like to be written by some kind of religious teacher in middle eastern high schools. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/04/25 Full Review Hannes P This has to be one of the worst movies i have ever watched. Wow. 2 hours wasted. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Book of Eli

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Movie Info

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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