I have to admit that when I first saw the trailer for Denzel’s new film, “the Book of Eli”, it came across as campy and redundant. The landscape looked quite dreary, and there didn’t seem to be much room for character depth in this decrepit environment. I felt that it would be a weak version of the Road Warrior. Needless to say, I would not be making a trip to the cinema for this low brow sci-fi dribble. But, how wrong I was.

The Book of Eli is a serious look at faith under the most horrendous of predicaments. In this way it brings to mind the footage of people in Haiti singing songs and dancing, in lieu of catastrophe. When there is nothing else left, the spirit is the bed on which we all lay. The film is set in the near future, 30 years after “the Flash”, some type of apocalyptic event which has scorched the Earth to a dull dry hull of itself. The only people left have been reduced to animal instinct, and savagery rules the land. Everyone that is, except for Eli, who is played with smoldering intensity by Denzel. We are told that his character has been walking west for the last 30 years.

Eli is much like the lone gunman in old school westerns, or the samurai, traveling across a deadly land with a razor sharp blade in hand. Although he is a master of destruction, it is quite obvious that his morality and spiritual conviction have not been corrupted by the wasted world around him. He is the light in the darkness, a brave soul impassioned by forces beyond his comprehension to deliver the last Bible on Earth to a safe location somewhere out west. Eli is not even sure where he must deliver the sacred book, yet his faith carries him forward.

Within this rough and tumble world, basic necessities like food and water are a luxury. Many have become cannibals as a means of survival, these parasites are easily identified by their shaking hands. Once he comes across a fledgeling town fighting for survival, we meet the misguided Carnegie who seeks only to use the last Bible in existence for his own selfish means. We also meet Solara, who becomes Eli’s confidant and road dog.

The arc of the story feels natural, and the dialogue is well written. The muted tones of sepia and gray wash over every scene, giving the perception of choking dilapidation and despair. Yet, hope steadily reigns supreme. This is the tale of a futuristic prophet, protected by the loving embrace of God’s will. Indeed, Eli is a mortal man, but he is under the auspice of the Almighty. As the saying goes, “Who Jah bless, no man curse”. This is an inspiring film, as art and as message.