The Book of Eli

[Viltris]

Just saw The Book of Eli. No strong feelings either way. I didn't hate the movie, nor did I love the movie. It was merely "okay". (In other words, the score of 53 that Metacritic gave it was spot on. Probably.)

Of course, one can't talk about The Book of Eli without discussing the religious overtones of the movie. Sure, the Bible is a major plot device for the movie. And sure, the main character is apparently deeply Christian. But I didn't feel like the movie was beating me upside the head with religion. (Although to be fair, I have no religious beliefs, weak or strong. And yes, I count "atheism" as a "religious belief".)

I can see how some people might be made uncomfortable, though. Religion is a touchy subject. The Da Vinci Code (which makes an amusing cameo in this movie) presents an alternative viewpoint to Christian beliefs and caused an incredible amount of controversy. (Though to be honest, I blame Oprah for that.) The Passion of Christ is about Jesus, and it made plenty people uncomfortable. (Although to be fair, that movie had some pretty disturbing scenes in it.)

Strangely enough, movies like Dogma are overflowing with religious themes, and yet they never get any kind of negative attention for it. Then again, Dogma is a comedy and clearly not meant to be taken seriously, so I guess people didn't.

And then there's Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy X, both of which are deeply anti-religious, and yet there's no controversy whatsoever.

So anyway, that's my review. (If you could call it that. More like a mini-essay about The Book of Eli and Religion.)