# The Book of Eli
**The Book of Eli** is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, written by Gary Whitta, and starring [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington) as Eli, a lone wanderer crossing a ruined United States to protect the last surviving copy of the Bible.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) • [2](https://www.alconent.com/film/the-book-of-eli) [Gary Oldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-oldman) plays Carnegie, a warlord who wants the book as an instrument of power, and [Mila Kunis](https://www.edgepedia.org/mila-kunis) plays Solara, a woman who joins Eli on his journey west.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) The film was produced by Alcon Entertainment and Silver Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, opening in Los Angeles and New York on January 15, 2010.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | January 15, 2010 (Los Angeles and New York openings); distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) |
| Directors / writer | Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes; screenplay by Gary Whitta[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) |
| Cast | Denzel Washington (Eli), Gary Oldman (Carnegie), Mila Kunis (Solara), Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Gambon, Frances de la Tour[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) • [2](https://www.alconent.com/film/the-book-of-eli) |
| Genre and rating | Science fiction and Western; rated R; 118 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) |
| Box office | $94.8 million gross in the United States[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) |
| Critical reception | 46% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (205 reviews); 65% audience score from more than 250,000 ratings[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) |
| Music | Atticus Ross, Claudia Sarne, and Leopold Ross[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The story is set thirty years after a war turned the world into a wasteland. Traveling west on foot through a devastated America, Eli carries what the film depicts as the sole surviving copy of a book that might either nourish a society's rebirth or, should it fall into the wrong hands, serve as a tyrant's weapon.[2](https://www.alconent.com/film/the-book-of-eli) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) The book is the Bible; other copies were destroyed when religion was blamed for the catastrophe that ended civilization.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli) Eli's mission, given to him by a voice in his head, is to move west with the book.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli)
His antagonist is Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed leader of a makeshift town who is old enough to remember how powerful the Bible can be and wants a copy to control the population.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli) In Carnegie's words, the book is "a weapon" with which he can manipulate people into obeying his plans.[5](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-book-of-eli/) Solara, Carnegie's captive and the daughter of Claudia ([Jennifer Beals](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-beals)), escapes with Eli and becomes his traveling companion.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli)
The film's late twist reveals that Eli is blind and that his Bible is written in [Braille](https://www.edgepedia.org/braille), which is why Carnegie could never take the book's contents from him by force.[6](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/movies/denzel-washington-and-gary-oldmans-post-apocalyptic-neo-western-movie-is-a-flawed-but-worthwhile-re-watch-16-years-later) On rewatch, the film drops repeated hints: Eli answers truthfully that he did not see a No Trespassing sign, and his fighting style plays on the trope of the blind martial artist whose other senses are heightened.[6](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/movies/denzel-washington-and-gary-oldmans-post-apocalyptic-neo-western-movie-is-a-flawed-but-worthwhile-re-watch-16-years-later)
## Production
Gary Whitta wrote the first rough draft in about six days, working from a one-page beat sheet and longer notes on the character and theme, and the script sold to Warner Bros. in May 2007 for [Joel Silver](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-silver) to produce.[7](https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/written-interview-gary-whitta-the-book-of-eli-5c86745e72a7/) Whitta said he combined two interests: the mythic lone wandering hero of samurai films such as *Yojimbo* and the [Man with No Name](https://www.edgepedia.org/man-with-no-name) archetype, and questions of faith and spirituality.[7](https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/written-interview-gary-whitta-the-book-of-eli-5c86745e72a7/) After the sale he did rewrites with the [Hughes brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/hughes-brothers) and Denzel Washington, integrating their notes.[7](https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/written-interview-gary-whitta-the-book-of-eli-5c86745e72a7/) Whitta later co-wrote the screenplay for the first standalone Star Wars film, *Rogue One* (2016).[8](https://time.com/109904/star-wars-film-gareth-edwards-2016/)
The Hughes brothers, known for *Menace II Society* and *[From Hell](https://www.edgepedia.org/from-hell-film)*, were reported attached to the project in May 2007; after reading the script they prepared a detailed hardcover book of notes, comic panels, and storyboards to win the assignment.[9](https://www.awn.com/news/directors-go-hell-post-apocalyptic-western) *The Book of Eli* was their first fictional feature since *From Hell* (2001).[5](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-book-of-eli/) Don Burgess was the cinematographer, Cindy Mollo the editor, and Gae Buckley the production designer.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442)
## Genre and style
Commentators consistently describe the film as a post-apocalyptic Western. The AFI Catalog classifies it as science fiction and Western,[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442) and the *Christian Century* review called it "an old-fashioned western dressed up in postapocalyptic rags," comparing Eli to the one-named drifter of classic Westerns.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia describes it as a stylishly shot post-Holocaust western centered on a loner carrying the last King James Bible.[10](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/book_of_eli_the) Reviewers placed it alongside *The Road*, released around the same time, sharing the ash-gray palette and the long trudge west, but with a more openly religious framing.[11](https://apj.co.uk/articles/films-the-book-of-eli)
The action staging drew frequent praise even from unfavorable reviews. The *Christian Century* highlighted the first road encounter, shot as a silhouette at the end of a long tunnel, and the sequence at the home of the cannibal couple George and Martha ([Michael Gambon](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-gambon) and [Frances de la Tour](https://www.edgepedia.org/frances-de-la-tour)), lit with natural light flashing through bullet holes.[4](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli)
## Reception
The film earned $94.8 million in the United States.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) Critical response was mixed: the Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calls it uneven, saying its reach exceeds its grasp, while crediting the Hughes brothers with injecting fresh stylish fun into a familiar wasteland setting.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) Recurring criticisms were a thin story, heavy-handed religious symbolism, and a predictable twist.[11](https://apj.co.uk/articles/films-the-book-of-eli) Audience scores ran warmer, at 65 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.8 on IMDb.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli) • [12](https://movieradar.tv/movie/the-book-of-eli)
**Religious reception and scholarship.** The film was championed in the United States by advocates of faith-based cinema, though it also treats religious authority as a potential tool of cynical abuse.[10](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/book_of_eli_the) Screenwriter Gary Whitta told ChristianCinema.com that he spent considerable time going through the Bible to find passages Eli could quote at appropriate moments.[13](https://baptiststandard.com/news/faith-culture/the-book-of-eli-casts-bible-as-a-major-theme/?print=pdf) In the *Journal of Religion & Film*, James Aston of the [University of Hull](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-hull) and John Walliss of Liverpool Hope University argued against readings of the film as a simple affirmation of God, contending instead that its treatment of religion is more ambiguous and that it never resolves the difference between positive and negative uses of religion.[14](https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol15/iss1/1/)
## Legacy
The film marked a turn in Denzel Washington's career toward combat-focused action roles; Tom's Guide's retrospective notes that his martial-arts performance here presaged his later work in *The Equalizer* franchise.[6](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/movies/denzel-washington-and-gary-oldmans-post-apocalyptic-neo-western-movie-is-a-flawed-but-worthwhile-re-watch-16-years-later) The Hughes brothers did not direct together again after the film; Allen Hughes went on to *Broken City* and Albert Hughes to *[Alpha](https://www.edgepedia.org/alpha-2018-film)*.[11](https://apj.co.uk/articles/films-the-book-of-eli) In academic writing the film has become a standard reference point for religious themes in post-apocalyptic cinema, described as the text that most overtly uses religious faith as a narrative driver in the genre.[15](https://cris.winchester.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/2417608/350331_Leggatt_KeepTheFaith_withstatement.pdf)
## References
1. [The Book of Eli (2010), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/66442)
2. [The Book of Eli, Alcon Entertainment](https://www.alconent.com/film/the-book-of-eli)
3. [The Book of Eli, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_book_of_eli)
4. [John Petrakis, "The Book of Eli," The Christian Century, April 20, 2010](https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-04/book-eli)
5. [Nick Schager, "Review: The Book of Eli," Slant Magazine, January 14, 2010](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-book-of-eli/)
6. [Malcolm McMillan, "The Book of Eli re-watch," Tom's Guide, September 26, 2026](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/movies/denzel-washington-and-gary-oldmans-post-apocalyptic-neo-western-movie-is-a-flawed-but-worthwhile-re-watch-16-years-later)
7. [Scott Myers, "Written Interview: Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli)," Go Into The Story, January 16, 2010](https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/written-interview-gary-whitta-the-book-of-eli-5c86745e72a7/)
8. ["Even More Star Wars Films Are in the Works," Time, May 23, 2014](https://time.com/109904/star-wars-film-gareth-edwards-2016/)
9. [Rick DeMott, "Directors Go From Hell to Post-Apocalyptic Western," Animation World Network, May 22, 2007](https://www.awn.com/news/directors-go-hell-post-apocalyptic-western)
10. ["Book of Eli, The," The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/book_of_eli_the)
11. ["The Book of Eli (2010) – A Profound Journey," APJ](https://apj.co.uk/articles/films-the-book-of-eli)
12. [The Book of Eli, MovieRadar](https://movieradar.tv/movie/the-book-of-eli)
13. ["The Book of Eli casts Bible as a major theme," Baptist Standard](https://baptiststandard.com/news/faith-culture/the-book-of-eli-casts-bible-as-a-major-theme/?print=pdf)
14. [James Aston and John Walliss, "The (Un)Christian Road Warrior: The Crisis of Religious Representation in The Book of Eli (2010)," Journal of Religion & Film 15(1), 2011](https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol15/iss1/1/)
15. [Matthew Leggatt, "Keep the Faith," University of Winchester](https://cris.winchester.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/2417608/350331_Leggatt_KeepTheFaith_withstatement.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns, 1980 onward*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license