Denzel Washington to Star in Book of Eli

[kane9321]

The movie was awesome...I so didnt put the whole

Spoiler

"eli was blind"

I had a feeling he was

 

[Superfreak]

You watched this movie more than ones and still didn't see the hints that Eli was blind through out the whole movie?

saw the hints, what I didn't see was a blind man on screen, not all the time anyways.

 

[Vapor]

Saw it last night and thought it was great. Loved Denzel in it, Oldman was good too. Thought the cinematography and look of the film was great.. In fact, there were moments I was thinking The Hughes should have done Terminator 4. Thought the fight scenes were fun, especially the first one.

I didn't see the twist until the end when Oldman had thrown the book on the table in shock/anger/disapointment but thinking back, I can see where there were subtle hints.. I can buy that God was on his side. I like that even though the film is about faith, it doesn't particularly shove it down your throat or really make out one religion to be 'the one'... in fact doesn't Eli basically tell Solara that it doesn't matter what you beleive as long as you have faith in something..

 

[kane9321]

he certainly went blind at the end of the movie, that I will not argue. But as for being blind the rest of the movie, I disagree... it was more like he was blind, then cured by god, before the movie. I've rewatched 3 times now, and still don't see it.

I would have been impressed on rewatch, if it were that he was literally blind the whole movie (and it was recognizable on second view). But it just doesn't feel that way on first, or on rewatch. It would have been amazing if it had been made more clear that he was totally blind... without the audience realizing. But three times I've watched this, twice looking specifically from your perspective, and I still don't see it.

There are no scenes in the movie that imply he is blind (other than the last couple)... but there are also no scenes implying that he can see. Not implying that he can see, does not mean that he cannot see. I see no quotable proof from the movie that defines denzel as blind... prior the close up of his eyes at the end. I call that a denouement for denouement's sake.

mmmmm

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

exactly. See for me, the suprise is sold when I go and re-watch, and it turns out he is litterally blind for the WHOLE movie (not just instances where it is intentionally illustrated that he is blind). Every moment of the film should be an exposition of his blindness. But this exposition of blindness should have been invisible to the first time viewer, but absolutely clear to the repeat viewer.

But alas, it feels like they took a movie that is primarily about a guy who could see, then sprinkled in the proof in little easter eggs to illustrate the lack of sight... instead of trying to achieve this secretly throughout every single scene with Denzel.


The religion issue is a problem, and shouldn't have been hammered home so hard: why protestant christianity?



lastly: upon a couple of rewatches: the first 40 minutes of this movie were annoyingly stolen from my all time favority post-apocolipse movie, The Road Warrior. Identical film, up to the town. They almost use the exact same camera angles.

I think the only reason the subtle hints are there, and that Eli is capable of doing things that a sighted person could do, is just too show that God was indeed on his side, and all of the things God promised him, like the protection, were granted to him.

I also believe that God heightened his senses more than they probably already were.

 

[Doctor Jones]

That is correct, he had faith. As goes with the theme, as long as you have faith, something that drives you, you can do anything, no matter what circumstance or abilities you have.

 

[T'Jai]

just came out of my second Viewing...

there are so many clues it's not even funny...

spoilers:
The cat was making a Lot of noise
He stops every time he reaches a change in level
reads the bible with his eyes closed or in super low light
he stops every time he is about to go look into something
kicks stairs before he walks up them
hits most things with the barrel of the shot gun (doors objects etc)
stumbles into the desk on his way to the closet
smells the body several times before actually going to where it is
everyone he looks at is talking to him
Mila comments on how bright it is then he looks at the lantern
he ***** his head to listen or smell before doing any action
the only "visual" stimuli he reacts to is a drastic light change which is something you can feel due to heat...
says he walks by faith not by sight
says "I didn't see the sign" (no trespassing)
Tom put's his finger On the trigger after Denzel told him to take it off

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

That is correct, he had faith. As goes with the theme, as long as you have faith, something that drives you, you can do anything, no matter what circumstance or abilities you have.

Yep, spot on, God told him he would have protection on his journey, this obviously meant certain abilities a normal blind man wouldnt have.

 

[Doctor Jones]

That's what Carnegie didn't realize. In fact he is the one who is blind. He is blind of what real faith is. It's not just in a physical form. I loved the inclusion of his blind wife saying "you must have no idea how it feels to have something so close but something that's a thousand miles away" or something like that. Carnegie believed that faith comes from a book, hence his wanting to manipulate everyone with it.

I have a feeling in years to come, people will appreciate this film more. It certainly has depth that critics have neglected.

 

[E-Man]

I think that the old couple's place clarifies his

Spoiler

blindness.

[BLACKOUT]He said that he didn't see the sign, and he touched the door with his shotgun instead of just grabbing the door knob.[/BLACKOUT] There were other clues that have already been pointed out so well by Jamon, T'Jai, and others, but I think that is the most clear cut sign.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I got the hint when he bumped into something when he went to check the closet out in the house in the beginning of the film.

 

[ABleedingCorpse]

I really liked this movie. It wasn't perfect, but it sure was interesting and kept me focused the entire time. A film that keeps my attention, doesn't bore me, is fun to watch, and has a kick ass plot, it deserved a 10 from me. Can't say much else.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

That's what Carnegie didn't realize. In fact he is the one who is blind. He is blind of what real faith is. It's not just in a physical form. I loved the inclusion of his blind wife saying "you must have no idea how it feels to have something so close but something that's a thousand miles away" or something like that. Carnegie believed that faith comes from a book, hence his wanting to manipulate everyone with it.

I have a feeling in years to come, people will appreciate this film more. It certainly has depth that critics have neglected.

I think it will become something of a cult movie, I have only spoke to one person who saw it and didnt enjoy it, the rest loved it, and I mean loved it, so the critics simply got this one slightly wrong.

 

[TheFuture]

I can't help but get the feeling that people have been so harsh towards this film because of the so called religious propaganda. I'm not religious myself but FFS, Hollywood can come out with the most retarted social commentary at times so empathising the positive aspects of religion is hardly a huge crime.

I say this because I've read a lot of reviews for the film, and nearly every negative review I've read gave considerable attention to the "religious propaganda" of the film.

Have we got to the stage where we can't tolerate religious themes unless they are making a mockery of it (Religulous, Borat, Bruno etc etc)?

 

[Doctor Jones]

I don't know. Cristics are funny at times. Usually they have a great eye for films, but sometimes they're mistaken when a film is first released. Films like this and Blade Runner and Fight Club were misunderstood too. I mean this film has flaws, but I don't think it deserves a rotten rating on RT. It's better than that.

 

[COAL TIGER]

I see another Blade similarity. It looks as if Bradstreet did the art for The Book Of Eli.

 

[Texas Zombie]

On a scale of 1-10, about a ten times better than legion.

 

[COAL TIGER]

I think that the old couple's place clarifies his

Spoiler

blindness.

[BLACKOUT]He said that he didn't see the sign, and he touched the door with his shotgun instead of just grabbing the door knob.[/BLACKOUT] There were other clues that have already been pointed out so well by Jamon, T'Jai, and others, but I think that is the most clear cut sign.

I was thinking that Eli touched the old folks door with his shotgun to see if it was booby-trapped.

 

[E-Man]

I was thinking that Eli touched the old folks door with his shotgun to see if it was booby-trapped.

I was thinking that too at first, but after the big reveal I thought it touched it because he was blind in addition to making sure it wasn't booby trapped.

 

[GhostPoet]

I don't know. Cristics are funny at times. Usually they have a great eye for films, but sometimes they're mistaken when a film is first released. Films like this and Blade Runner and Fight Club were misunderstood too. I mean this film has flaws, but I don't think it deserves a rotten rating on RT. It's better than that.

I RARELY find RT to be useful...at all. At least in my case they are 99% of the time wrong. (or rather the critics are) in terms of my taste.

 

[BDOUBLEO]

I really enjoyed this movie; I’ll definitely check it out on DVD when it comes out.

 

[Rac]

I didn't expect much from this and enjoyed it for what it was. Nice little post-apo actioner. CGI/greenscreen work irritated me from time to time tho.

2 ½ out of 5, or maybe 3 / 5

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

This is arriving on blu-ray next week for me and I cant wait to see it again to see all of the subtleties.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I have a feeling this film will be on "most underrated films of the decade" lists.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^It was definately under-rated by the critics, thats for sure, have only spoke to one person who has seen it and didnt like it.