I’ll be honest with you, The Book of Eli panel at last summer’s San Diego Comic-Con garnered little attention, despite having stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis in attendance, as well as a kick-ass trailer [Read SDCC 09: “˜Book of Eli’ Panel]
The Hughes Brothers‘ film, which opened in theaters this past Friday, was just too far off and too far buried under anticipated blockbusters like Avatar and Iron Man 2 (and of course Twilight: New Moon).
Plus, how many good movies ever came out in January? It’s usually not a good sign, but thanks to Cloverfield (a box office smash in January 2008), I’ve come to expect at least one decent January movie a year, and let me tell you, The Book of Eli is the one for 2010. I absolutely loved the movie, despite the questions it left me with. The entire movie could have been just Washington and Oldman and I would have been fine with it.
The film takes place 30 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic setting where one man, Eli (Washington), is traveling the country with an important book, one that the villainous Carnegie (Oldman) would do anything to possess. The inhabitants are reminiscent of Road Warrior, with Kill Bill-like action. You’re on the edge of your seat as Eli makes his arduous journey, even after we learn what he’s capable of. And what is this all-important book he carries and why does Carnegie want it so badly? And how to does Mila Kunis’s character fit in?
Time for some SPOILER TALK! Below are SPOILERS for The Book of Eli. Free free to add your thoughts in the Comments section.
SPOILERS
It’s 30 years into the future after all our modern-day necessities like electricity, running water, manufacturing, food production, and the like, have ceased. Not only that, but the Sun has finally done what we all figured it would do — blind the people.
- What caused the war and how did it do so much damage?
- Who are the ‘them’ that the people are referring every time someone checks Eli’s hands. A few times, he said “I’m not one of them” or someone else referred to Eli saying “He’s not one of them.”
- What were Eli’s travels like for the 30 years we didn’t get to see?
- How did Eli become so highly trained in combat (hand-to-hand and with weapons)?
- Speaking of Eli’s fighting — totally badass! The first few fight sequences are straight out of Kill Bill and are far from predictable.
- Umm… Eli’s blind!!! Oh, shit, I did NOT see that coming. Now I have to go back and what the film all over again with this integral information. This explains why he never attacks first; why he didn’t say anything when Claudia — who’s blind — first comes into his room; why he’s walking everywhere instead of driving; and so much more… must see this movie again!
- Nice appearance by Tom Waits!
- Mila Kunis’ character Solara appears to be the cleanest human in the film (aside from her mother). We know that she was born after the war and is illiterate, yet she seems smarter than many of the people older than her (the goons who work for Carnegie and the women who serve as whores, and also the people on the road). She is also clearly “untouched” and has great teeth for someone who probably didn’t have the benefit of growing up with toothpaste, fluoride-infused water, and regular dental check-ups. Her hair also looks beautifully done, as if it was washed and set every day. By the way, if there was no more shampoo or other means to wash my hair, or even enough water for drinking, let alone washing, I think I’d forgo growing my hair down to my ass like Solara and her mom, and instead maintain a buzz cut.
- Oh yeah, by the way, the book is The Bible, but I think that was obvious to everyone, right? Unless the film was going to make up a new mythology, having the all-important book be The Bible is the only way to go. But why is this the last copy of The Bible? I know it was mentioned that all copies were destroyed, but why?
- Carnegie’s mission: On paper, Carnegie’s obsessive quest to possess The Bible seems, well, a silly premise. But, when you think about it, he has a point. He says that using the words of The Bible, he can get more followers, which is true. But, here’s my question: Why exactly does he need/want more followers? He already has plenty already and pretty much runs his own town. More followers would mean more mouths to feed and bodies to clothes at a time when necessities are severely scarce as it is.
- Why didn’t more people think to go to the oceans?
- If the war turned the land into a wasteland, wouldn’t the oceans have been affected too? Yet, in the end, Eli and Solara make it into San Francisco Bay where the water seems fine (maybe it wasn’t, but it seemed ok; oh, and good think there was a fully intact row boat there at their disposal).
- Aside from a stray cat or bird, what are the people eating? Even canned goods wouldn’t last 30 years and it doesn’t seem like the soil is even viable for planting crops.
- After Carnegie gets shot, he’s bandaged up and then takes off after Eli. When he returns home, one of his men has a walking cane ready for him. Just wondering where this came from? Is there a fully stocked medical facility there too?
- After 30 years those KFC handy wipes would have been all dried up.
- Where is the gasoline for the trucks coming from? After 30 years, I would think all the gas stations would be emptied out.
What did you think of The Book of Eli? Do you want to see a prequel/sequel?
# Who are the ‘them’ that the people are referring every time someone checks Eli’s hands. A few times, he said “I’m not one of them†or someone else referred to Eli saying “He’s not one of them.â€
Cannibals. This was hinted at many times. The female hijacker at the beginning says “and then eat you”. Carnegie references it when he talks about how they’re a civilized town – “We don’t eat people.” Eli mentions it at George and Martha’s after they view the graves. They mention the graves, shaking hands, and eating people all in that short exchange. The shakes are a real thing, called Creutzfeldt-Jacob, that people get from consuming too much human meat.
# How did Eli become so highly trained in combat (hand-to-hand and with weapons)?
God/supernatural influence plus 30 years of kicking ass.
#Mila Kunis’ character Solara appears to be the cleanest human in the film (aside from her mother). We know that she was born after the war and is illiterate, yet she seems smarter than many of the people older than her (the goons who work for Carnegie and the women who serve as whores, and also the people on the road). She is also clearly “untouched†and has great teeth for someone who probably didn’t have the benefit of growing up with toothpaste, fluoride-infused water, and regular dental check-ups. Her hair also looks beautifully done, as if it was washed and set every day. By the way, if there was no more shampoo or other means to wash my hair, or even enough water for drinking, let alone washing, I think I’d forgo growing my hair down to my ass like Solara and her mom, and instead maintain a buzz cut.
Mila Kunis is the daughter of the town leader’s kept woman. She lead a privileged life, relatively speaking. There’s no shortage of water for them – they know where the spring is. The water is controlled and made scarce in order to give Carnegie power over the people. She was also cleaned up before going to see Eli since Carnegie was sending her in to service him and try and keep him in the town.
# Why didn’t more people think to go to the oceans?
What good will that do them? They can’t drink the water, they don’t have the knowledge or equipment to desalinate the water, there is no civilization there that they know of, and it’s a dangerous journey.
#If the war turned the land into a wasteland, wouldn’t the oceans have been affected too? Yet, in the end, Eli and Solara make it into San Francisco Bay where the water seems fine (maybe it wasn’t, but it seemed ok; oh, and good think there was a fully intact row boat there at their disposal).
If you’re familiar with SF and the bay, you’d notice that the water level is lower. As for the boat, dude is being led on a mission from God, it makes sense that a boat would be provided ;)
#After Carnegie gets shot, he’s bandaged up and then takes off after Eli. When he returns home, one of his men has a walking cane ready for him. Just wondering where this came from? Is there a fully stocked medical facility there too?
They’ve had 30 years post-war to scavenge. There are road crews that go out every day to look for the book and they bring other things back, as is shown when they bring the shampoo. It’s not unreasonable to assume they could have found and brought back a cane sometime over the last 30 years.
# After 30 years those KFC handy wipes would have been all dried up.
They’re completely sealed. Those things last a looooong time. I’ve found 10+ year old first aid kits when moving that had moist wipes that were still good.
Comment by Elsie — January 19, 2010 @ 7:19 pm
The war did not do the damage, the sun did. It burned up the land and only those who were hiding underground or under some heavy protection survived. “They” are the people who have turned to cannibals. The hijackers eat their victims, as did the old couple in the end. When you eat too many people, your hands shake.
Comment by Emiley — January 19, 2010 @ 8:11 pm
There are a lot of great moments in this film.
When Eli tells Solara that People had more than they needed in the times before the great war, that really hit a nerve and how survivors fight for stuff that we use to throw away. I think the Hughes Brothers made a very cool Western set in the post-apocalyptic landscape. The influences are all over the place.
I was really impressed with this movie.
Comment by Jerry — January 19, 2010 @ 9:00 pm
I can answer one of your questions. The “they” is cannibals, whose hands shake from eating too much human meat. We learned that at the old peoples’ house before the old couple died.
Comment by Dave Finn — January 19, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
Answers:
Who are the ‘them’ that the people are referring every time someone checks Eli’s hands. A few times, he said “I’m not one of them†or someone else referred to Eli saying “He’s not one of them.â€
Cannabals whose hands shake from eating too much human meat.
Aside from a stray cat or bird, what are the people eating? Even canned goods wouldn’t last 30 years and it doesn’t seem like the soil is even viable for planting crops.
See above
Oh yeah, by the way, the book is The Bible, but I think that was obvious to everyone, right? Unless the film was going to make up a new mythology, having the all-important book be The Bible is the only way to go. But why is this the last copy of The Bible? I know it was mentioned that all copies were destroyed, but why?
It was hidden under ruble and he kept the book hidden to himself. Solara accidentally saw it.
Why didn’t more people think to go to the oceans?
After a nuclear winter it is safer underground. Also there would be no point unless they could get rid of the radiation in the water. Best sources of water are rain and underground springs.
Carnegie’s mission: On paper, Carnegie’s obsessive quest to possess The Bible seems, well, a silly premise. But, when you think about it, he has a point. He says that using the words of The Bible, he can get more followers, which is true. But, here’s my question: Why exactly does he need/want more followers? He already has plenty already and pretty much runs his own town. More followers would mean more mouths to feed and bodies to clothes at a time when necessities are severely scarce as it is.
Watch the animated short on Carnegie which gives his background.
———–
Discrepancy:
After 30 years those KFC handy wipes would have been all dried up.
I agree hand wipes have a shelf life of 5-years. Although if water is added to a dry hand wipe it still can be used. But 30 years is far fetched.
Comment by Anon — January 19, 2010 @ 11:20 pm
Ok, so I’m the only one who didn’t correlate the shaking hands with the cannibals, but it makes sense now that I think back on it.
More importantly, I’m intrigued by what Elsie said about the handy wipe lasting 10 years. Seriously? I swear, every handy wipe I let sit around a long time dried up. But 30 years seems a bit much.
So, if Carnegie’s people are NOT cannibals, then what do they eat? Like I mentioned, canned goods can’t last 30 years and I would think that even wild animals would be hard to get (because what would they be eating?).
Comment by Empress Eve — January 20, 2010 @ 12:46 am
If there’s any truth to this, canned food can be eaten for a looooooong time. http://www.internet-grocer.net/how-long.htm
At the beginning, with the first group of hijackers, it showed canned food.
Comment by Elsie — January 20, 2010 @ 12:52 am
Emiley, the sun did the damage but the sun was able to penetrate the atmosphere because of the damage the war did to the sky/ozone layer.
Comment by Elsie — January 20, 2010 @ 12:55 am
It was called Children of Men and it was better simply because it didn’t rest on a “Sixth Sense” style twist.
Comment by D — January 20, 2010 @ 9:28 am
SO WHY DO PEOPLE THINK HE WAS BLIND?
Comment by MRS. JOHNSON — January 21, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
If you piece the ending together you clearly see he was blind. He was fully able to read and understand brale. And near the end of the movie it showed a close up on his eyes which were grayed out, which is an indicator of blindness.
Comment by Goat — January 21, 2010 @ 10:24 pm
Carnegie’s mission: On paper, Carnegie’s obsessive quest to possess The Bible seems, well, a silly premise. But, when you think about it, he has a point. He says that using the words of The Bible, he can get more followers, which is true. But, here’s my question: Why exactly does he need/want more followers? He already has plenty already and pretty much runs his own town. More followers would mean more mouths to feed and bodies to clothes at a time when necessities are severely scarce as it is.
Obsessive quest is the operative phrase, he had three springs, and he wanted to rule to expand. Greed! According to him, they would do whatever he wanted them to do. He remembers the cults and organized relation from before “the flash” and the submissive power that the Bible have if you play your cards right. If he had hid the word in his heart like Eli did, he wouldn’t have needed one in the first place…lol.
•Why didn’t more people think to go to the oceans?
Only so many people were left, and people were getting robbed and killed like crazy. Maybe some felt it was safer to stay in one place. Eli was “protected”… and could kick some serious butt!
•Oh yeah, by the way, the book is The Bible, but I think that was obvious to everyone, right? Unless the film was going to make up a new mythology, having the all-important book be The Bible is the only way to go. But why is this the last copy of The Bible? I know it was mentioned that all copies were destroyed, but why?
He mentioned that some people thought the Bible caused the war. Those people, especially if they were in power, would see to it that the bibles were destroyed.
Comment by Neeka387 — January 21, 2010 @ 11:57 pm
If Eli was blinded like everyone else during the war, how did he learn to read braille? He had to have been blind before the war and been taught to read braille. which would also imply that it was his book to begin with. They never really said how he got the book, did they?
Comment by mb — January 23, 2010 @ 9:47 pm
@mb
In the motion comic, we see Eli as a young man. He’s working at a supermarket at the time of the war when everything goes bad and people loot the store and he wasn’t blind at that time.
But you bring up a good point, how did he learn Braille? Now, he’s been on this mission for 30 years, so that’s more than enough time to learn braille.
It’s also possible that he found the book when he still had sight and since it was in braille, he might have learned braille in order to read it (either before or after he was ‘given’ the mission).
Comment by Empress Eve — January 24, 2010 @ 12:17 am
My question is how the hell did his ipod work. Its not a matter of whether he got a charge for it or not, but if a nuke goes off within hundreds of miles of the ipod, the electronics would have been fried from the emp. Unless that one ipod was in a faraday cage, it would have been a goner. Even if it was in a faraday cage, after 30 years of battery degrading it might have a 15 minute battery life, if even. And I seriously doubt they are in a position to fix an ipod in their technological state.
Comment by Mike — January 24, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
I loved this movie. Yes, there were lots of holes, but Denzel Wshington and Gary Oldman were fabulous.
The reason all of the bibles were burned was because people felt what it taught was the reason for the war that ended up burning holes into the ozone.
I’m also sure that gasoline was probably scavenged as well and heavily guarded, much like in the “Road Warrior”.
The fighting was amazing!!! Now that I know Eli was blind I have to see it again. A lot of things make sense now.
Comment by karrie — January 24, 2010 @ 6:01 pm
He was not blind, how could he see Marthas shaking hands? Why would he wear sunglasses outside?
Comment by Matt — January 25, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
He didn’t notice Martha’s hands shaking until she was handing him a teacup on a saucer. He heard it.
Comment by Kate — January 26, 2010 @ 1:27 am
He didn’t see Martha’s hands shake….Solara TOLD him her hands were shaking. She specifically said “Her hands are shaking”.
Comment by Brandy — January 26, 2010 @ 1:40 am
was Eli muslim? I believe that is the second twist of the movie. He was a Bible-saving, blind, pro-christian muslim. Maybe??????
Comment by chris — January 27, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
Eli was blind! me and my family talked about this movie for 2 days haha. everything added up and the only thing i could find missing was, how did he shoot that first guy 2 or 3 blocks down on the roof?? but god told him he would not be harmed, so was it his powers??
And how did he know when to stop in the bar at the counter, and not run into random objects that did not move(didnt make a noise). but besides those things the movie was amazing! my favorite.
Comment by Derek — January 28, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
he was def blind i suspected that within first 5 min first there was ash all over his gas mask but he was still able to shoot the cat. second he works solely off sound and vibrations. when passing the car in the beginning he doesn’t notice it until he is right beside it then hits the door with his bag so he knows its dimensions . then the scene where he runs his hand through the cupboard to feel everything cause he can’t see it he always kicks the first step at porches or stairways he eludes to it with his words. a million other clues lastly being the book is written in braille
Comment by cody — January 29, 2010 @ 7:33 am
If Eli is blind, this was Denzel’s worst acting performance ever. With Solara’s mother ACTUALLY being blind, you see the proper way blind people react. She looks in the direction of the voices, but doesn’t focus. Eli focuses on everyone. Looks them in the eye. I think he can see until the end due to god’s intervention. Also, I want to say he said he was a teacher before the war, I need to watch it again to be sure, but I believe he said that.
Also, he got the bible after they were all destroyed. He said god led him to a place where he dug and found it. It happened to be in braille.
Interesting movie, but if he is blind, it made it a horrible movie in regards to acting prowess and plot holes.
Comment by Samuel — January 29, 2010 @ 11:58 am
The only part that confuses me is that why did he flinsh so bad and get scared when he opened the door and the dead hung guy as there ? if he was blind he shouldnt have cared.. but i guess the small made him do that.. also makes sensse why he hit the car with the deadcat in the bag befor he opened it !
good movie
Comment by Mo — January 29, 2010 @ 5:49 pm
He wasn’t a teacher but a worker at K-Mart, when they were in the nuclear reactor and the girl was nosing around hsi bag you could see his name-tag: K-Mart: Hello my name is Eli
Comment by Ryan — January 31, 2010 @ 12:17 am
I noticed that when he went outside the house to confront Carnegie he did not have on his glasses. He was out in the sun for awhile before Mila came back. Was he blinded then? His eyes are shone when he is in the room with Mila and they are not gray. Therefore, I think he could see until he was left out in the sun after he was shot. Also, he wouldn’t have needed to wear sunglasses if he was blind before.
Comment by fan — February 1, 2010 @ 8:46 pm
(Corrected typos…)
This movie is amazing! When it is revealed that Eli is blind…it made me want to see it again…watching the 2nd time, you can see that he is blind (or at least legally blind)
When he said “I walk by faith and not by sight” he was not just quoting the Bible (2Corinthians 5:7)he was speaking literally because God was leading him in everything…. There are also glimpes of his blindness at the start of the film…Example: When he gets to the first house he uses his sense of “smell” that leads him to a closet (he actually bumps into a table before opening the closet door) he finds the body of a man who hung himself…Eli extends his hand to touch the body (he can’t see it)and then he uses his hands to feel for the dead guys boots….You have to see this movie again……..Eli never gave anyone the impression that he was blind and I think that was part of his survival tatics….that, along with the Divine Intervention of God Almighty …..The way the movie unfolds reminded me of some of the accounts recorded in the Bible (the story of Gideon, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s den)…If you have never read how God works….check it out.
Comment by CeeT — February 2, 2010 @ 12:06 am
In response to Elsie’s post and how he/she talks like he/she knows everything…maybe handy wipes stay moist for 10+ years (I doubt it) but I use Alcoholic Swabs that are sterile and completely sealed multiple times every day and I have found some tucked away in my household that I forgot about and haven’t used for a looong time and they do not stay moist for long. Maybe a few months and those things will completely dry up, even in the packaging. I might have to try that suggestion of just adding a little water to make them good again but I’ve had it happen on many separate occasions where it doesn’t seem like that much time has passed and swabs that I expect to be good end up being completely useless because I open the packaging and they are just totally dry.
Comment by casedistorted — February 2, 2010 @ 9:04 am
Just wanna say one thing. did anyone notice that he could “smell the salt” when the ocean was near, hear the bird when Carnegie could not. It kinda lead to the fact that he was indeed blind. the shooting accuracy was because they all shot before he did. the guy on the roof. well 30 years of experience you would think he could tell how far everything was just by the sound. and lastly, he did focus on everyone (which made it seem like he wasnt blind) but you gotta remember that he was a very skillful blind man. he could shoot cats and people, you would think he could look at people when hes talking right :) anyway. it was an alright movie 4.727842/5 i would give it but who cares what i think ;)
Comment by mike — February 2, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
how did he know the mouse was there??,, i agreehe cted pretty badly if he was supposed to b blind, it sorta makes sense doe,,, woulda been a differnt endnin if it said he was blind thw ho;e way through maybeeeeeeee lol how does he know which way is west?? the sun rise and set maybe,,, hahahaha ohhh yesaaa biggy heere!!! when he was on the brigde,, he loked over and “saw” alcatraz and said this is the place, then he started rowing in the direction of the island hmmmmmm, bit iffy if im guna be honest here
Comment by joe — February 2, 2010 @ 9:45 pm
What caused the war? I assume it was some kind of holy war, since they burned all the Bibles when it was over.
What were they eating besides stray cats and birds? Other wild animals, I would presume. And each other.
Why didn’t they ever go to the ocean? No one said they didn’t. Solara didn’t seem very amazed by that large body of water a few miles from her home town.
Comment by Larry — February 3, 2010 @ 6:36 pm
I don’t think that Eli was blinded by the sun. What I think happened is that Eli was blind before the blast working at Kmart. That is how he knew how to read brail. If you watch the beginning when he first has the book and he’s reading it. His eyes are closed. I couldn’t understand why they were but it made sense later in the movie.
He obviously has super senses. He can hear the bird, hear the cars, smell the guys who are trying to hijack him in the start. I highly highly doubt that he was blinded by the blast, I’m pretty sure it was the opposite.
That’s how he was so close to solara’s mother when she first was introduced and asked her what type of perfume she was wearing. The grey eyes thing with blindness, think about it. God gave sight back to the one guy to send him on a mission. Same thing with Eli.
There are way to many scenes when he is directly looking at things and people. He aims down his guns, he wouldn’t need to aim if he couldn’t see. Also, blind people have a tendency to turn their heads toward sounds and to blankly stare off into the distance. Eli made eye contact constantly.
Comment by chris — February 4, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
Did anyone else notice that in the beginning of the movie that the dead guy was missing shoes, and then the cat that came to the body was killed by Eli. Or that when he went in the house and took the dead mans shoes, he only got excited when he felt them, if he wasn’t blind he would have saw the shoes, or would have checked for the shoe size, but he didn’t do any of that. So what i’m trying to say here is that yes he was blind and yes that GOD gave him almost super human like instincts. I give the movie a 5 out of 5.
Comment by Jesse — February 7, 2010 @ 10:28 am
I Think eli was only blind in one eye. he had the ablity too shoot moving targets (cat & Bird). he new the ipod had a low battery. and he saw the graves in the backyard. I think it took him 30 years to remember every word of the bible and learn Brail. great movie
Comment by gi-gi — February 9, 2010 @ 2:15 am
Also at the start of the movie he kept pushing play on the ipod even tho it said Low battery
Comment by jason — February 12, 2010 @ 10:41 pm
Eli was blind before the war, and was blind the entire movie. The signs are all there (he feels for food instead of looks for it, he relies on smell, etc.) He has super human-like powers because he’s on a mission from God! God does all sorts of crazy things, he can give a blind guy the power of super smell and hearing.
Everyone who is talking about how he couldn’t have been blind because he looks people in the eyes and he needs sunglasses and he can shoot perfectly, listen up: The fact that he is blind is a PLOT TWIST! They aren’t going to give it away immediately by making him stare off in the distance when someone talks to him. Also, have you ever seen a blind person? They wear sunglasses more often than not, not to mention that keeping the fact that he was blind was probably a survival strategy. This would include trying to focus on people when they talk, and wearing sunglasses to blend in. If he can hide the fact that he’s blind, why would he let people know he was blind?
He worked at K-Mart, he was not a teacher. You see his K-Mart name tag. He was probably a teenager when the war happened. God knew that the only bible left was in braille. Eli was chosen specifically for the mission because he was already blind and he could read braille.
Comment by Seven — February 17, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
I think the makers of this movie must’ve read the dark tower. Eli was a badass gunslinger and a remnant of the world before; alot like roland.
only thing im wondering is when that guy shoots eli in the back as hes walking away, what did he hit?
Comment by Phillus — February 24, 2010 @ 6:43 pm
I disagree on the creutzfeld jacob theory. it can happen if you eat an infected brain, but i doubt it that it’d transmit through any meat.
Comment by soilent — February 26, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
i love this movie
Comment by dana — February 28, 2010 @ 4:38 am
I didn’t know he was blind until the end but thats what makes it so damn good. The one thing I would like to know is why did people feel the need to burn the books any way, because being the cause of war is a poor reason. Any ways this movie makes you want to know more, and I think that this happened for real but in a different way. I saw something like it on south park a few years ago. But, of coarse south park is just comedy. I give this movie 5 stars I enjoyed it, its the best and its a movie I would watch more than once just because its so good. Great job to Denzil, he never lets me down!!!!
Comment by dana — February 28, 2010 @ 4:46 am
it hints a few times through the movie that he is blind. like at the beggining when he opens the car door and feels the skeletons feet for shoes. if he wasnt blind he would just be able see their were no shoes. and when he tells solara that we walk by faith not by sight. his faith in god is guiding his walk.
and no he is not blind in one eye he is blind in both. if he had any sight at all he wouldnt need to feel for the shoes or the food in the cupboard, and being able to shoot the moving targets he is guided by God to finish this mission God guided his bullets and Eli had the faith to take the shots.
and when the guy shot at eli it didnt hit him eli heard the bullet go by him. and again he is/was protected by the power of God.
Comment by Taylor — March 7, 2010 @ 9:13 pm
First of all to all the people that have something to say about the acting skills of Denzel Washington, shame on you. That man is brilliant, to only give away little hints of blindness so the ending would still have that WTF moment is just pure genius acting.
Honestly I did not catch up many of the things most people above found during the movie, reading them now however does make a lot of sense. I did found his movements weird sometimes but thought he was listening to god at sometimes. Being blind does makes alot more sense then that.
To answer your last question:
I see to many different theories and unanswered questions on this site alone to conclude that the intention was to create a pre or/and sequel, perhaps even a series since that’s sort of the style nowadays. To bad the movie didn’t do that well (yet) so it’s a bit uncertain. But I hope so, I find this to be on of the best post-apocolyptic settings ever.
Comment by Mars — March 8, 2010 @ 9:11 pm
I liked it at first, but I kept waiting for something big to happen. Granted the ending where you find out he was blind was a surprise and explained a lot, like why he walked everywhere. It didn’t really explain why it took him 30 years to reach the west I mean when did he find the bible. In the trailer I saw it said the world ended then he just kept walking ever since. I agree with the original posts about the petrol, the food and yes even the wipes. You would think after 30 years those who have survived would build a better form of life. The first thing I would do in what I presume was some sort of nuclear war, is find a place on earth the least effected and get some soil going any way I could, then plant some seeds. If some humans didn’t die them presumably neither did all the stock or plantation life. Get a well going people, get the plumbing system working again. There is hope to rebuild. What was so important about getting to the life the way it was with all the Britannica’s they found and save. What was the bible going to do for them now, give them hope, try to give reason to their destruction. Why cant anyone read, those left would surely have taught the others to read. Not a difficult task I’m sure. The movie was okay, but it lacked so much. I think it was more about the faith and determination of a blind man to salvage and give rebirth to the humanity in people. I mean sure nice message, but makes for a boring movie, baring the fight scenes.
See it don’t see it doesn’t matter. I’m just jaded as I cant seem to find a movie that really impresses me anymore.
Comment by cynblack — April 11, 2010 @ 2:55 am
I thought the war they were speaking of was actually the rapture. The book of revelation speaks of a giant tear in the sky. God takes the saved to heaven and left the rest on earth and left eli as well because god had a mission for him. In the bible the sinners are left to roam the earth until jesus comes back for them. God is giving them a second chance to be saved that’s why eli was carrying the bible to the printing press.
Comment by ile — April 12, 2010 @ 11:39 pm
I was reminded of this wiki article after seeing the seen with the old folks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)
Comment by ChibaChiba — May 21, 2010 @ 9:20 am
The guy at the bar asks him if he’s a vendor and shows him his hands not because he’s a cannibal but because according to the bible only people with the mark of the beast can buy and sell. He was blind the whole time great movie. only problem was mila kunis not so good acting she never was and why would she have such moisturized skin and good hair. but who cares it’s a movie. I don’t think there will be a sequel starring kunis.
Comment by cooldudemcrude — May 22, 2010 @ 2:08 pm
I think the Bibles were burned because people were disullusioned after the earth being laid to waste and so they felt there couldn’t be a loving God because then it wouldn’t have happened.
Comment by Ethan — May 24, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
In the very beginning of the movie when Eli stops at the car with the skeleton in it, he reaches down and feels around on the floor boards. In a few minutes we discovers he’s hoping for new shoes when he finds the hanging body. If he could see, he would not have needed to feel around but would have just seen that the skeleton’s shoes were long gone. I live in AZ and that little canteen was just not enough water!
Comment by Lorelei — June 20, 2010 @ 7:16 pm
Discover…we discover he’s hoping. Sheesh
Comment by Lorelei — June 20, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
There are many types of blindness.
Eli probably has macular damage. This is a fairly serious type of blindness, where the center part of the eye is blind, but you still have some peripheral version.
Eli WOULD NOT be able to read, drive, or recognize faces. However, he most definitely COULD walk a highway, take a teacup, avoid bumping into objects. He might also be a good fighter.
Macular damage is caused by staring at intense light, such as looking at the sun, or watching a welding arc. Without a doubt, witnessing a thermo-nuclear explosion can cause this type of blindness.
Comment by Wizzie — June 21, 2010 @ 2:17 am
Ok so you all assume blind means he can’t see anything, but there are varying degrees of blindness. He might have just had really blurry vision, or been able to seen outlines etc. Because blindness is a spectrum, not a definite thing. It is like colorblindness. It does not mean you can’t see all colors, it just means you see differently.
Comment by Steaky — June 22, 2010 @ 7:40 am
how did he know the moist wipes were from KFC?
Comment by zach — June 25, 2010 @ 3:23 pm
It really doesn’t matter whether Eli was blind or not because the Bible was on the ipod; he had memorized it due to listening to it for 30 years. This is why it shows Solara with the ear plugs in starting her ‘mission’ to take the Bible back to her home.
Comment by amy — June 26, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
•Oh yeah, by the way, the book is The Bible, but I think that was obvious to everyone, right? Unless the film was going to make up a new mythology, having the all-important book be The Bible is the only way to go. But why is this the last copy of The Bible? I know it was mentioned that all copies were destroyed, but why?
==Im assuming The War is the great war mentioned in revelation. thats why eli says “some ppl say this book was the reason for the war in the first place”. In revelation it states that after the war all of gods ppl are taken to up to heaven until they return to rule over the world for the rest of time. this period when god and his presence are completely gone from the earth, leaving it barren and overrun with evil.
and to my take on how gasoline/canned foods would still be around for 30 years is, you have to think about how much gasoline or canned goods there are in the world right now. now we dont have a definite number on how many ppl died in “the flash” but im assuming it was more than the majority of ppl. so although no new gas or canned goods are made the whole 30 years, you also have ALOT less ppl consuming them.
my main question (like everyones) is the blindeness. i def see how he could be blinde the whole time. the bumping into the table, kicking the stairs when he walks up them, heightened other senses, etc. but he seems to make so many facial expressions and glances/looks towards ppl when talking. while answering questions or having conversations he does too much “looking” at people. or when he gets his battery back from the engineer hes looking at the battery and moving his hands around it trying to grab it and get the engineer to hurry up, then he looks him dead in the face and says “tell them i made you do it, say it”
i agree mainly with the theory of, he was blinde before, got his vision back when he got his mission to deliver the bible and then lost it at the end. i think he lost it when he was shot in the stomach and the lightning flashed. but having said that he also seems to be looking the old man at Alcatraz in the face just before he starts reciting the bible. maybe he slowly loses it as he completes reciting the bible, who knows?
great movie either way. i love that they werent afraid to make a christian based movie in a day when everything seems to be accepted except christianity. way to go!
Comment by Brandon — June 30, 2010 @ 12:15 am
I would like to discuss the idiocy of the majority of people that have commented about this movie.
1. What causes any war? Man’s nature to destroy, or survive. Which there is a thin line between both. Plus nowadays large wars (example.. World War 3??) are gonna do massive damage, there are approximately 23,335 “registered” nuclear weapons in the world. These nuclear weapons are shared by 9 countries, and I believe that almost all of them have had disagreements with at least 1 of the other 8 on the list in the past.
Now look at WWII with Little boy that was dropped, it was our first Atomic Bomb and that was only 13 kilotons. Fat man was 21 kilotons and was the second bomb ever used in combat. The average American nuke is 250 kt who have around 9,000 warheads. The average Russian nuke is around 550 kt who have around 13,000 warheads which are not as accurate, which explains the size difference. A 21 kt nuke has an effect radius of 0.51 miles, or 0.81 sq mi, a 550 kt nuke has 0.95 miles, 2.8 sq mi.
Think about just the effect radius….. Then think about the ozone layer witch is already greatly deteriorated, and the pressure exerted upon it when theses bombs go off. Hmmm can you say SPF 10,000 for a while?
2. “Them” are cannibals, and yes they are checking to see if the hands shake excessively. Caused by a disease called Kuru, Kuru is believed to be caused by prions and is related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The word Kuru translated means “shake” or “to shake”. Although it is considered a transmissible prion disease, there is some evidence that the origin of the disease was due to consumption of an individual (cannibalism) with sporadic CJD, thus implying a common pathophysiology.
3. The Bible was the first thing to go after the war I assume because the longest running war known to man has been over the holy land.
4. There are not very many people I am sure they can all find a way to eat every day there are some kind of nutrients in almost everything.
5. I have a blind sister who has a blind husband. They are as different as night and day. She has been blind since birth 22 years ago, he was blinded somehow as a child when he was around 8, he is now 21. One thing I learned as a small child was never to underestimate a blind person. My sister can tell who is walking around the house and almost deduce what the person is doing from another room. Can tell you exactly what you had for lunch hours later from the smell of your breath if you get too close to her. I watched a hispanic kid at a local restaurant that didn’t take credit/debit cards try to short change her and she knew because she can tell the difference between bills by feeling them. She walks around most of the time without the use of a cane, has never had a seeing eye dog, cooks entire meals, fills her own glass by sound, cleans, looks at you in the face because she can hear and smell your breath, never really has any problems at all. Her husband as I said is the exact opposite, can’t do any of the things she can, is easy to mess with if you want to, witch she is not. The only thing cool he can do and this might tie all of her’s is he can play certain video games, like wrestling and most sports games, and beat the cpu on medium difficulties.
6. As for all of the other little things. I am an avid movie buff and can find several things wrong with almost any movie.
Thank You For Your Time…
Comment by Jenson — July 2, 2010 @ 1:59 am
“My sister can tell who is walking around the house and almost deduce what the person is doing from another room”
This is cool! On YouTube there is a video of a blind kid who can skate board and play basketball. Apparently he snaps his fingers and hears the echo, like sonar.
This movie was great!
Comment by Gabe — July 3, 2010 @ 11:14 am
A lot of things hint he was blind. He never ever attacked first, he always smelled the water etc.
Another thing is, when you go blind it is said to be that your other senses get.. Stronger. So he obviously has superb hearing, and smell.
And for the whole rat thing.. If you listen the rat squeaks and pats around. Obviously he hears it and gives it the food.
For the ipod.. He presses the play/next buttons and it wont do anything. Thats how he can tell its dead.
When people go around him or behind him he always looks in that direction. That is part of the plot twist to make you think he’s not blind. (because you think he is looking behind to see who is there)
Great movie, and the Bible was not on the ipod. He might not of first trusted the general store ”clerk” with it, but he knew that he wouldn’t do anything.
The Bible he gave to Carnagie was obviously in Braille which he had read every day for 30 years, you could probably memorize most if not all of it. God probably gave him the strength to do this, the patience to read it everyday, the path, and even the finding of the book. It was all God’s plan all along.
God works in mysterious ways, but remember, they are always for the good.
Comment by Trey — July 4, 2010 @ 1:06 am
ok ive watched and review movies for a while now. i have watched this movie 8 times and actually formulated a list of hows?whys?and WTF? ok
Blindness – he actually said i walk by faith not by sight. he said he got it from johnny cash when mila kunis asked.
– everytime he talks to people he would look at the people’s face.
– action scene when he took down two guys while mila kunis is getting mugged. he precisely shot them.
– i have researched things about blindness. some people dont get blind till their late years. at the end he prolly reached his peak.
– some scenes actually showed that he is clearly not blind a bit. when he bumped into the table yes clearly says that he is losing sight but when he opened the closet he jumped (a sign of suprise.)
– watch the movie and take notes. trust itll be more clear. anyways thats just my opinion and everybody’s thoughts are great made me double checked everything. have a good one.
Comment by Mic — July 5, 2010 @ 12:55 am
This is a movie that has to be watched the second time for it to make sense to you. I never realized he was blind at all. I thought perhaps the war had to do with God ending the world, and the ones left were evil, except Eli who had a mission. You could tell that God had given Eli special fighting skills, as his movements were must too swift for a normal person. Also, his accuracy for shooting and fighting. When he was shot in the end, he also was helped by God to live long enough to repeat the Bible from memory. His appearance at the end was like a holy man or monk, as he was bald and dressed in a white attire. His sense of smell and touch helped him and represented more of a blind person who had perfected these tools. The world was ended by God, and was in the transaction of being turned into a new world, who needed the Bible. The bad guy wanted to Bible to claim himself as a God, and rule with it for evil. The young girl was given the other mission of continuing Eli’s efforts to give the Bible to turn people toward God. I really enjoyed this movie, and think that people are searching for these answers. They know the end will come, so just hearing that the things that we took for granted were then things that were being killed for, and one was the Bible. It gets you to think, with the economy, that what Eli said was true, people had more than what they needed, and that is exactly where we are now. We need to
take heed and re-evaluate our life and materialistic living, is it really necessary, or is the way of God more important in the long run. Think about this movie and learn..
Comment by Susan — July 5, 2010 @ 5:46 am
I’d like to point out. He tried hard to show he was blind. In that world, him being blind would have made him an even bigger target. She he had a lot of time and practice to figure it all out.
Comment by Mphone — July 6, 2010 @ 3:24 am
Type— Tried hard to NOT show he was blind..
Comment by Mphone — July 6, 2010 @ 3:24 am
ok the thing about Eli being blind can’t be true, because if it was thin how would he have seen alcatraz from the golden gate bridge? and how would he be able to walk in areas he is unfamiliar with? and use a pistol to shoot the snipers on the roofs of the town. sure he could of herd them thin shot them, but the sniper was quite the was away, he wouldn’t know the exact spot where the sniper was. but i can say he probeble is loosing his sight, because you see him trip on somthing in the first house he went in, and he triped on the step at the old peoples house as well as not seeing the no trespassing sign. and as for the braille bible, he did say he found it, he didn’t buy it for himself, sure it would take a long time to learn to read braille but it is a matter of time before you start to get patterns and figure it out, and he had 30 years to do it. so in my opinion, Eli is not blind, but he could be loosing his sight.
Comment by colby — July 8, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
also i forgot to say that he is able to look at the sun and find out what way is west by watching what way it is setting. or the way how he is able to use doors, like the first house, the door he used to lock Solara in the spring, and the old peoples house. once again, not blind, but he could still be loosing his sight.
Comment by colby — July 8, 2010 @ 2:05 pm
wait wops, he didn’t se alcatraz from the bridge, but he still saw it from the beach. but he steped up on a curb on the bridge withought bumping into it. so that showes he isn’t 100% blind.
Comment by colby — July 8, 2010 @ 2:26 pm
ok sorry i thought of a couple more thing suggesting Eli isn’t blind, in the beggining he got the lighter off of the dead high jackers and saw the flame, the wind was blowing away from him so he probeble didn’t feal the heat. and he knew the cart was tiped over on the right side and he was able to find her water in it no problem. also he was able to take the shotgun from the store clerk suprizingly fast and he knew where it was, he didn’t over reach or come up to short and he knew how high it was. and i forgot about the doors in the store, and in carnagie’s place.
Comment by colby — July 8, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
okay I see the verdict isn’t in on wither Eli is BLIND or not so I will try to illustrate point that leads to the fact that he was. In the begining Eli was walking and came upon a vehicle inside the vehicle was a SKELITON, now if he could see it was a SKELITON why would he feel to see if it had on SHOES!! I owuld stop right here but I know you need more! At the first house he came in contact with before he even went into the house he slightly kicked the step. Maybe not enough to judge okay, inside the house everyone says he flintched when he opened the closet and seen the hanging dude. Are you serious, he flintched because the DOORS fell off the HINDGES!!! He even smiled when it happened!! Not yet convinced here is more. In the same sceen if he saw the dude hanging why did he FEEL his legs to see if he had on shoes?? Moving on to the sceen where he came across the hijackers he backed up under the over pass so he could hear the movement of the attackers echoing off the walls. After killing the dudes he asked the female “Where is your water?” He kicked around the cart until he heard liquid never seeing it why did he smell it instead of just taking it? Besides the water was BLACK he didn’t have to smell it to realize it wasn’t water if he seen that it was black!! There are oh so many more OBVIOUS ways to determine he was Blind. I have disected this movie forward and backwards a lot of people debated their reasons why he wasn’t blind, but it doesn’t hold up. WATCH THE MOVIE AGAIN!!!
Comment by sparks — July 8, 2010 @ 4:54 pm
After much thought and a little research in 1 Samuel of the Bible, there is a man named Eli, he is a high priest, and a mentor to Samuel. He wears the white linen dress that was called a Ephod, and they did shave their heads and face at that time. Eli was not a good father, and had two wicked sons, so God did not look upon him favorably. There is a lot of fighting in the book of Samuel. Was Eli the Eli from the Bible, did God give him another chance to prove himself with this mission. Eli was going blind, but not until his death. You will notice in the very end, Eli in the movie had taught the girl how to pray, he protected her, and even told her when they were in the house, that the two of them were to be protected. When she asked about the two older people, he said, I don’t know about them. When he gave the Bible over to the bad guys, God let him feel the shot when he was shot. However, gave him enough life to finish his mission. I don’t believe Eli was completely blind until the end when they showed his eyes. His eyesight was failing, and needed the braile Bible to memorize it as God wanted him to do. The girl was his main mission to teach her the ways of God and to continue the word of God. At the end, he had turned back into Eli from the Bible, as his sckin was without marks, and smooth, and he wore the robe of the high priest, plus was clean shaven as he was before. He thanked God for letting him do this mission, and he prayed that the girl would be protected. He also said, thank you for letting me rest as I am so very tired.
The Eli in the Bible died when he was sitting in a chair on the side of the road, and fell over backward, with a broken neck. Eli in the movie, was shot, but fell over backward. God let him go on, because he protected the girl, and was consequensly a good father image to her..where he was not before. Something to think about..
Comment by Susan — July 9, 2010 @ 1:14 am
Empress Eve, remember when the girl went to get the water for Eli, there were chickens in coops, and pigs. So the people had their own food and water supply. Although Eli’s eyesight was failing, he was still being protected and seeing things through God’s eyes. When the bullet his his backpack, and when he escaped out of the room, that was protected, these were more or less miracles. You say, then why did God let him be shot, because he gave the Bible to the bad guys. But because he was also doing a good deed, God did not let him die. The mother could not necessarily read the braile Bible, just the touching of it, let her receive the love that came from it..No one was to touch the Bible because it was sacred and no evil was to touch it.
Comment by Susan — July 9, 2010 @ 1:24 am
ok Sparks i like those observations, but the part where he was fealing for shoes on both bodies you have to remember, he had sunglasses on and was looking into dark places. its kind of hard to look inside a dark place, with dark sunglasses on.
Comment by colby — July 9, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
For all of you asking, why did it take him 30 years?
1 year was spent underground, Eli tells us this in the movie. Then he had to go to where the book was. And let me ask you this, how long would it take you to walk to the ocean, on a god driven mission, if you were blind? Hell, it takes as long as it takes. Oh and figure in sleep time, hunting time, time to kick peoples ass…….and any number of other small adventures along the way.
Comment by Jess — July 13, 2010 @ 8:24 am
First of all we all have to remember that it is a great movie, Second I have not read 1 thing that mentions that it all takes place in 2043 which is 30 years plus 1 after 2012 which is suppose to be the end of times as we know it. It took me only 2 times of watching the movie to catch all of the sighs that Eli was blinded by the flash of light and that a greater sprite lead him to the book. I know a lot of blind people and most of them wear sunglasses almost all the time and look right at me when they are talking to me. I did not see anything wrong with this performance. I am truly hoping that there are more movies too this one. Hope everyone does the math and gets the hint before something like this really happens.
Comment by Jon — July 14, 2010 @ 5:00 am
June 25th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
zach Says:
how did he know the moist wipes were from KFC?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
best comment ever.
anyone who doesn’t think he’s blind is a dumbo pants. It’s possible for humans to learn echolocation. he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s blind by looking at everyone when they talk and wearing sunglasses (he knows where their faces are because of the sound of their voice and their horrible breath due to the fact that tooth paste is gone). he doesn’t actually ever look anyone in the eyes directly, that’s impossible for him, but he’s wearing frickin sunglasses so people can’t tell. And finally you can just assume that in pretty much every movement he is being led by God, but if you examine the movie, he’s obviously blind.
Also something that nobody mentioned before, at the beginning when he’s about to fight the gang of marauders, he steps back under the bridge. I think this is to make his enemies easier to hear, because of the reverberating sound, although I’m not sure if in actuality this would have helped him or just made things extremely confusing, but I think that’s why he went back under the bridge before the fight.
Comment by Mike — July 15, 2010 @ 1:12 am
ok I have seen many people say that Eli is blind and he is able to get around because he is being led by god. If god was able to lead people you would think that god would prevent the war in turn, saving religion and no longer needing Eli.
Comment by colby — July 16, 2010 @ 6:36 pm
I think it took him 30 years, just because God knew the timing it would take for him to memorize the Bible, Meet Solara and have alot of water to finish the journey, and arrive at the place JUST as the printing press is being completed so they in on the papers that the scribe has written do not have time to become desecrated.
It’s really a movie all about God’s timing.
I loved it.
Comment by Tia — July 20, 2010 @ 12:55 am
He wore the sunglasses because he didn’t want sand in his eyes, just like everyone else.
Comment by Jared — July 20, 2010 @ 6:08 pm
oh and every time he reads he has his eyes closed and his finger on the page.
Comment by Jared — July 20, 2010 @ 6:09 pm
“a lot like Roland. ”
Not at all. Eli understands his mission and undertakes it with wisdom. Roland was a fool who sacrificed his friends for the mission, all the while missing the whole point of the mission which was his friends. Note that one meaning for Palavar, the talks Roland and his friends constantly had, is useless and meaningless talk, idle chatter that leads nowhere.
Comment by Frank — July 23, 2010 @ 3:37 am
Well Jared, when your reading a braille book you don’t need your eyes, you just need to feel the braille on the pages. It is also common to look at someone looking down and think there eyes are closed, but there slightly open.
Comment by colby — July 27, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
Eli was NOT blind at all. I don’t have any clue why you people come to that conclusion. Storywise, the braille was about making Solara’s mother more powerful. But hey, I don’t expect everyone to get it. Eli was never blind though. And braille is easily taught and learned. If you had the last book of anything, and it was in braille, you would learn to read braille.
But again, ELI was NEVER blind. Ever.
Comment by Smart — July 28, 2010 @ 2:27 am
Eli was a muslim. You can deduce that from the scene where he was dictating the bible while he was laying on his back with shaved head/beard wearing the clean white goon, which is a typical muslim wardrobe..
Comment by Alfonso — July 29, 2010 @ 2:54 am
Why all in the movie are wearing sun glasses, I don’t understand
Comment by Mousa — July 30, 2010 @ 6:07 am
I’ve seen it twice now, back to back. 100% convinced he is 100% blind throughout the entire movie. He uses echolocation on three occasions. First to pinpoint the location of the cat she kills, second to spot the mouse, and third to find the general location of the stairs on the cannibals’ house. He kicks the stairs not so much because he trips on them, but to be sure where they are.
It’s really not a big deal that he can “use doors” that are strange to him, as someone pointed out above. He’s got to be about 50. That’s plenty of experience knowing generally where a doorknob is placed.
He trips over things several times. He bumps into a table with the man who hung himself. He’s not spooked by the man having hung himself, but by the door falling off its hinges. (someone above mentioned this! yay! Because when I watched this movie the second time, I was looking specifically for this part!) He feels around in the cupboards rather than just looking. Obviously the feeling for the boots. When he takes the water from the shopping cart he feels around for it, then he almost trips over a can.
I originally thought he went under the bridge to take away the advantage of sight for the enemies. I think this is true, but even more so for the echo factor someone mentioned above. Genius, thank you for that!
He never sees things on his own, someone always says what it is first. He doesn’t see the graves until someone says they’re graves. He doesn’t see the woman’s tremor, but he hears the rattling teacups.
This was an amazing movie. I thought some bits were a bit contrived. But overall amazing.
And I cannot be convinced be was not 100% blind at any time in the movie. In fact, I think sometimes he cocks his gun, or taps things, specifically for the extra benefit of echolocation. In fact, I think he might have been blind from birth. But that’s just my opinion. It’s not a big deal, it could have been the flash.
Comment by Neil — July 31, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
He’s not blind. Explain how he shoots arrows into the throats of two villians who are about to rape mila kunis? No amount of echo location in the world could explain that. Eli was not blind. Watch it again, knowing that. I own the dumb movie, for no reason, because it wasn’t a great movie. But holy hell, blind? Really? LOL is all I can say. Maybe they wanted that to be the big ending, but there are way too many times where he proves he isnt blind.
Comment by Smart — August 2, 2010 @ 1:25 am
I guess I don’t understand that response?
It was a movie. About Eli. Who is blind.
If you wrote the story then the statement “He wasn’t blind” might mean something.
But it was written by Gary Whitta. About Eli. A blind man.
Doesn’t that kind of end the blind vs. not blind argument?
Heck, Whitta himself even said he originally intended Eli’s eyes to be _visually_ blind. I mean, _obviously_ blind. Like clouded over and pale eyes, and cover them with sunglasses the entire film.
He was blind. The writer, the guy who wrote it, says so… So…
Yeah…
Comment by Neil — August 2, 2010 @ 11:18 am
Neil, you make some good points but if he was using echo location to fight people, how would he have been able to shoot the sniper from a block away, and if he did hear the sniper there is no way he would have been able to get the one spot where the sniper was because guns are loud and the sniper was far. And I’m the one who said the thing about the doors because there are many kinds of doors. Doors with knobs, handles, what side of the door it was on, and what way the door opens. He also walks to the door no problem with ought hitting a wall. Also if you watch at the spring the door there is not a normal door, he knew exactly how to lock it. As for the bridge fight, look around, it looks pretty hot out there. He probable didn’t want to get hotter than it is so he fought in the shade. He also looks down the sights of hes guns when he shoots, if he was blind he wouldn’t need to do that. Also he looks away from the people getting robed on the overpass because he didn’t want to see that, if he was blind he wouldn’t need to look away from that. Look at all the other things I pointed out above, about 7 to 23 texts above, sorry there not all in one text.
Comment by colby — August 2, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
ok wops, i sent my message too late. well Neil i like that you went out of your way to get this big of evidance so if what you say is true then i would have to say he is blind, but i would like to see these myself, so how, or where did you get your information?
Comment by colby — August 2, 2010 @ 4:25 pm
Sure, no problem!
Here’s a link the inerview:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25539
And in particular this part:
—-
One major turning point in the script to screen process came about in discussions with Washington over the film’s twist ending. Originally, Whitta had intended Washington to have visually blind eyes, wearing sunglasses to hide them for the entire film. Washington refused, preferring to play the character as blind with his own brand of subtlety.
“Without even thinking, I said to him, ‘Are you sure you can pull that off?'” Whitta said. “He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me as if to say, ‘B—h, please!’ Later that day, he gave me a tour of his house and he’s got his two Oscars. He said, ‘I just thought you’d like to check those out.’ The look was, ‘Don’t ask me if I can pull this s–t off again.'”
—-
It’s the internet, ya know? So take it for whatit’s worth. :)
Ya know colby… yeah… there are some inconsistencies… It’s not a seamless movie, I suppose… It DID bug me that he looks out windows, and down the sights of his gun. And that he knew the towelettes were from KFC. But I guess he does some of these things to hide his ‘disability.’ Dangerous world and all… if he appeared to be blind he’d be easily taken advantage of.
That’s my take anyway. :)
Comment by Neil — August 2, 2010 @ 5:54 pm
WOW your right. I just read that web page and I guess it does say he is blind, good work Neil. Eli was blind and some how found a way to get around with out giving a huge hint about it. That was a good movie. And sense the main charicter is blind making the game should be way easyer to make because they dont have to do anything with graphics just like whitta sead ha ha ha ha
Comment by colby — August 4, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
So he shot an arrow from at least one hundred feet away, right through the throat of a villain that was about to rape his friend. No, not blind. You can’t sell the movie as reality in the aftermath, and then make the main character a superhero who can see, even though he’s blind.
Eli is NOT blind morons. That one scene is the proof.
Comment by Smart — August 12, 2010 @ 1:40 am
One big problem I had. It took 30 years to get a bible to Alcatraz, yet they already had a copy of the Torah and Koran. How did they make it there? It seems more like that those books would have been burned with even more prudence than the Bible since they are in America. I mean seriously, I’m 37 and I’ve still never seen a Koran. And who attacked us? Obviously with nukes, right? Well, no war could be waged against us on that scale by anyone except the Russians or Chinese, and they are NOT religious.
Comment by Mike D — August 16, 2010 @ 5:14 am
As for the question of his blindness, it’s in the eye of the beholder. There is no true answer, it was meant to let you decide.
Comment by greg — August 17, 2010 @ 8:34 pm
Does any one know where Eli started his journey in the first place? Is that ever hinted in the movie b/c 30 years is a long time to be walking. How great can that distance be?
Comment by Rod — August 25, 2010 @ 4:04 am
Having been a huge fan of the video game “Fallout”, this movie was a great experience for me. Both the movie and the game take place in a post-apocalyptic setting, with similar “road warrior” bandits and “wild west” towns and villages along the way. It was a really fun movie and I’ll be watching it again.
As for the blindness, surprisingly I never even considered it. The entire time i expected the bible to be written in hebrew or something that carnegie wouldn’t be able to read. And when it turned out to be brail, i just assumed that Eli could read it.
One moment that did strike me as odd was when they were approaching the old couple’s house, his foot caught the first step. I assumed it was just a mistake and left in for realism, but now i see that he didnt see them!
@smart, if you were smart (irony) you would see that he shot them from maybe 20 feet away.
Comment by C — September 1, 2010 @ 8:59 am
@Samuel: He manages not to bump into quite a few things because he feels his way around. But (just one example), as stated above by C, he kicks the step on the way to the cannibals’ house (because he can’t see them) – it requires a second viewing.
He also seems to look people directly in their eye because he is a sensory badass. Yes, his senses (specifically, his hearing and smell) are THAT finely tuned. I can attest to this: I refereed an echo-location match between Eli and Daredevil and Eli won. True story.
And imo, no, it was not meant for you to decide – he is blind. A close up on his eye, after revealing the bible Eli has been reading all this time is in braille, means the film/director/writer is trying to tell you something… or they just want you to get lost in Denzel’s eyes – I know I idd.
Comment by Vince — September 5, 2010 @ 11:58 am
Smart, you’re fucking stupid. The entire message of the movie revolves around the power of faith, Eli is able to do those things like “shoot a guy in the neck” because of divine assistance. Thats the whole point of the movie is to show that through faith anything is possible. Have you ever heard “the Lord shall be my shepherd?” You’re the idiot here stop making yourself look like a jackass.
Comment by smartisdumb — September 7, 2010 @ 6:34 am
why dident the guy shoot him when they were in the stand off was he blind to or did he have anything significant to do with anything or was he special in anyway?
Comment by AG — September 24, 2010 @ 3:31 am
Salam, Peace,
Yes the final scenes where Eli is wearing what looked like a “Kamis” along with the fact that no cross was put on his grave, but an engraved stone, sure open a way to supposing that Eli could have been a Muslim. Let’s not forget that all this is fiction, and that Fiction, which is only “any” variation over the theme of Reality, does in no way dispense from the Truth.
Cheers.
Comment by realfEZ — September 28, 2010 @ 3:23 am
KFC:
Here’s how I figure he knows the wipes are from KFC IF he’s blind: HE GOT THEM FROM A BOMBED-OUT KFC. If you don’t think he’d know what restaurant he was in, I’m not even blind, and I can smell a KFC from two blocks away. Not to mention all the braille signage fast food joints have.
As an alternate hypothesis, restaurants use different scents, so maybe he knows which handi-wipes smell like what.
Comment by Rob — September 28, 2010 @ 1:22 pm
Another indication Eli is blind, 8 minutes into the move, just after he tests the sink for water….he walks towards the two doors and bumps right into a small table. He doesn’t see the table.
Comment by Jim — December 19, 2010 @ 7:57 pm
He was able to see .. But very little .. too much exposure to the sun affects the eyes .. causes cataracts .. hence the gray eyes at the end .. was the cloudy film caused by cataracts .. there is no way he could of shot an arrow thru that guys dick and throat if he was completely blind ..
Comment by Myra — December 23, 2010 @ 8:38 pm
Blind faith. Always works in fiction. Sometimes works in life.
Comment by katblu — January 26, 2011 @ 2:14 am
In the very beginning of the movie……right before he shoots the cat with the arrow…..he pauses and takes a deep breath to pin-point the cats location.
Comment by Southshoredent — February 27, 2011 @ 3:58 am
When people ask him to show them their hands its because if you eat too much human meat, your hands shake so they are making sure Eli isnt a cannibal
Comment by Jcole3 — February 28, 2011 @ 12:22 am
When people ask him to show them their hands its because if you eat too much human meat, your hands shake so they are making sure Eli isnt a cannibal
Comment by Jcole3 — February 28, 2011 @ 12:22 am
Christian Symbolism I noticed
Mark of the Beast: The Shaky hands from cannibalism
Eli is a Christ Figure
When Eli Gets Shot (lightning flashes across the sky) = Jesus at the cross, where Satan was bound 1000 years
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Eli liberates humanity (which is represented by Alcatraz) by dying, and bringing it the Bible. The prison represents Jerusalem that is in bondage (National Israel) and Eli represents Jerusalem from above (the eternal church of God)
Galations 4:22-28For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Then at the end Carnagie (who was searching for the Bible but couldn’t find it) represents National Israel who sought God and found not God, and Alcatraz (represents the gentiles) which didn’t search for God but found God.
Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Isaiah 65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ NIV
Then at the end Solara departs for her home town to save Israel that remained in bondage after Jesus
Romans 11:25-26 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Romans 11:1-2 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people…
Comment by David — March 21, 2011 @ 11:10 pm
he is not blind and notices claudia’s blindness when she first comes into the room asking, “you get blinded by the war, or the sun after?”
Comment by Bea — April 19, 2011 @ 1:40 am
It was most likely a nuclear war that turned the land into a wasteland. I read a summery on the book Life After Doomsday (IK, I haven’t had time to read the actual book for more info), and it stated that in the event of a world wide nuclear holocaust, the safest place in North America would be the southern Californian area, due to air streams and movement. That would be followed by areas of the Midwest (which I think would actually be more likely because there’re more plausible targets in Southern California vs. places like the Badlands, Lake Superior, and the such -not so much major cities like Chicago and Minneapolis-). Basically, the effects of global fallout would vary across the landscape and through the atmosphere, and that might suggest the abnormal continous cloud structures over the desert.
Comment by Bella — April 27, 2011 @ 12:57 am
He only knew she was blind after she said he had to say something so she could find him. Even the filmmakers on the DVD will tell you HE WAS BLIND.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:08 am
No, actually there IS an answer. The filmmakers SAY HE IS BLIND on the DVD.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:10 am
HE IS BLIND. How do I know? The filmmakers said so! There’s a million hints in the movie. Plus, the FILMMAKERS SAID SO!
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:11 am
Aside from it being the whole twist to the film, the filmmakers themselves SAID THAT YES ELI IS BLIND DURING THE ENTIRE FILM.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:12 am
He didn’t see the sun, he FELT it. Any blind person can tell which side of the body the sun is hitting. HEAT.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:14 am
Okay, but you’re not even mentioning the second big twist that most people miss. Eli is a Muslim. Watch it again. Tons of clues. He does what the voice told him to do, deliver the bible. He read it every day to memorize it because he is a Muslim.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:16 am
He “felt” he was in the right place. You assumed he ‘saw’ but he didn’t.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:17 am
Actually he DID bump into things, and used his hands out in front of him more than you probably remember. Watch it again. And once he tried to put a gun down on the arm of a chair, and then realized it wasn’t a flat surface and put it somewhere else. Tons of clues!
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:19 am
Yes. Absolutely. Tons of clues there. That’s the big second twist of the movie most people miss.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:19 am
He could hear it! She was clanging the tray, the teacups were clattering in her hands.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:20 am
Everyone wears them outside because whatever “The Flash” was had something to do with the sun and they had to protect their eyes. Even if you are blind, you would still protect your eyes.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:21 am
Also notice all the hints showing he is a Muslim.
Comment by tudebe — May 11, 2011 @ 6:21 am
Ever heard the saying “God works in mysterious ways?” Well it was said because it’s true. There is timing and a purpose for everything, and no human mind can begin to comprehend why or when God does what He does.
Comment by Grace Patterson — June 27, 2011 @ 10:06 pm
to colby, god doesn’t prevent or control war cancer etc generally across any population because he gave us free will, the whole point of adam and eve is we are responsible for our actions and the consequences they have, we are dealt harm because there is a different path for everyone to walk – no one person is the same and those obstacles are there for a very good reason.Â
If they had not eaten from the tree of life we would live in a perfect world. however they did so we live in a broken world and live with the consequences of the choices we make.
Only the righteous are offered the guidance of god. but all you have to do is ask him, its a pretty sweet deal really.But anyway, I just wanted to say I LOVED this film. It is good to see a righteous man and a movie that makes people think about the power and love of god the end result at least, my dad is going blind and he found comfort in this movie.
Comment by misskris — July 2, 2011 @ 6:18 pm
i bought that he was blind but i do have to say one thing. it was complete bullshit during the gun fight in the town. he practically sniped people with his handgun. i shoot all the time and its hard enough getting hits at 25 yards with a pistol, let alone the ranges a blind guy did it at.
Comment by Zeus — August 9, 2011 @ 9:22 pm
I think he was partially blinded by the nuclear flash…I’ve been watching the movie and rewinding etc etc…he does stuff too well to be completely blind. For example he reached for the door knob too perfectly when trying to make solara leave, he knew where shit was before even being there, ok, he tapped his foot on the steps before walking up them at the couples’ house but he was doing things way too easily than he should have been doing for me. The bird in the sky, come on now! I think he had horrible eyesight due to the flash. Survivors of Hiroshima weren’t that blinded, ahhhh nobody says that, I know I’m good, anyway, it was too daredevilish to be that keen with your “other senses” Partial blindness I’ll accept but to wander the earth for 30 years and your ass didn’t fall off a cliff or get hit by something yeah ok whatever.
Comment by Eelretsim12 — August 21, 2011 @ 2:05 am
He wanted Solara, so he saw an opportunity to bargain with Carnegie. Â Eli had something Carnegie wanted… make him work for it, make a deal.
Comment by Rza — September 9, 2011 @ 12:32 pm
A Nuclear attack was started by Christians, that is why all the bibles were burned. The rest is just Green House effects. “Them” are cannibals, who start to shake over time. In the unseen 30 years he learned to read brail, to fight, and where to take the book from a veriety of people. Hea was probaly 25 when the war happened, and is now 55. Same age as DW when he made this movie. Eli was not blind, may have need glasses but lost them. Cataracts are a result of the radiation. The bibles were destroyed because they were blamed for the Nuclear attack. What he wants is an Army and slaves to go out and bring him All that is left in the world. Salt is VERY valuable but you can’t drink salt water. Fresh Water Swamps like the Everglades provide drinking water and animals. Also they are near Oceans to get salt from. Any Fresh water suply near an ocean will have a large population. Oceans will be fine, Sea Floor will be Radioactive Hot, but everything above will be fine. Just don’t eat the bottom feaders.  What do they eat, insects, rodents, and reptiles Same things everybody else in the rest of the world eats today. The cane, probably came from a Walgreens. I bet your town has one. I have used alcohol swabs that are 16 years old and still moist. So I will give them that a 30 year old unopend box may still be good. They clearly emptied EVERY tank of gasoline, and are now burning ethyl alcohol (Drinking alcohol). Cars here ran on it back in the 50’s (Ethyl). In Brazil 90% of their cars run on it. Not in that town, but some where suger cane is still grown and made into alcohol.
So before the balloon goes up head to the libaray and learn where the nearest fresh water swap is to you. And how to grow sugar cane and make alcohol. Then how to make a car run on it. And you’ll also be on your way to ruling the wate land. Sea ya there. And don’t forget your Bible for controling the weak minded.
Comment by Konfess — November 10, 2011 @ 2:33 am
Nice language, did they teach you how to be offensive to your fellow man at Sunday school?
Comment by Bananaville — September 14, 2013 @ 7:25 pm
This movie begs for a Prequel. PLEASE!
Comment by Bananaville — September 14, 2013 @ 7:28 pm