In Hollywood's current trend of post-apocalypse now (see "2012" and "The Road"), "The Book of Eli" may come off as a somewhat generic genre flick. Regardless of the film's obvious aims at heavy themes and profundity, that's exactly what it is. Luckily, audiences will walk out of "The Book of Eli" still having seen a pretty good action film, with Denzel Washington carrying the material with effortless magnetism.

Brutal sun scorches a barren landscape of never-ending desert where water is a prized commodity and human flesh is on the menu. Here, a burned and disheveled man named Eli (Washington) walks alone carrying a machete, a shotgun and a book he's dedicated his life to protecting and transporting west. The world is lawless, with ruffians raping, stealing and murdering at will until they encounter Eli, who dispatches would-be robbers trying to take his precious cargo with unexplained fighting abilities, leaving enemies in his wake with missing limbs and heads.

Despite some of Eli's other belongings, which includes an iPod along with sand-covered clothes and KFC wetnaps for bartering, he won't part with the book. It's a Bible, the last remaining copy after it was outlawed and burned more than 30 years ago, before a war that "tore a hole in the sky" left the planet in its current devastation.

Since most people born after the war have no knowledge of books, it holds particular value to the elders born before it like Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a dictator of a small town he's ruled due to his secret knowledge of a hidden water source and probably a few tips he picked up reading his copy of the biography of Mussolini. He sends bone-headed thugs out to find the book so he can use it to gain unquestionable power over the hordes of people he controls. When Eli enters Carnegie's jurisdiction and dispatches his best fighters, he offers Eli food and the companionship of his adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) in order to sway him to join his ranks and part with the book, to no avail, leading to a chase across the desert with more than a few fireworks.

Despite feeling a bit derivative of films both past (spaghetti Westerns and "Mad Max") and recent ("The Road"), "The Book of Eli" will still keep audiences engaged. Washington brings a constant sense of gravity to his protagonist role as a man driven by hope and faith in an ugly world while audiences will get enjoyment out of Oldman's return to the dark side, thrilling with villainous aplomb despite looking and occasionally sounding like Jack Nicholson. With these two heavy hitters on the screen, Kunis' role seems small potatoes by comparison, despite being able to stretch out in this actioneer.

Speaking of action, that is what directors Allen and Albert Hughes deliver well in their first film since "From Hell" in 2001. The fight scenes are skillfully staged and a climactic action sequence where the camera zigs and zags between heroes and villains under fire is a blast to watch. But the whole time, whether it's the near-silent 10-minute opening sequence or the film's weighty and frequently conflicting religious themes, you get the sense the Hughes brothers are aiming for something more artful and bold than what most action movies deliver.

By the end, despite a nice narrative twist, you'll realize they came up short in that department. But at least in delivering the popcorn goods, "The Book of Eli" keeps the faith.

Blake Hannon | Stjoelive staff