I decided to review both of these recent theatrical releases together due to a particular commonality between the two, and because the write-ups will be rather short in comparison to my other reviews. So, let us begin with Daybreakers
The film takes place in 2019, thrusting the viewer into a world where a plague has stricken humanity, turning the vast majority of the population into vampires. Faced with the dilemma of a rapidly-dwindling supply of blood due to the fact that the human race is on the verge of becoming extinct, a hematologist by the name of Dr. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is trying to develop an alternative, artificial blood supply to ensure his species' survival. Should he fail, all of the vampires in the world (which is pretty much everyone) will slowly mutate into grotesque, mindless monsters. Of course, he is not just in it for the vampires, as he cares for humans, too (and he does not drink human blood). His boss, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), however, does not share his sympathies, and neither does his brother, Frankie Dalton (Michael Dorman). This causes for quite the problem when Edward decides to help a group of humans escape capture (and thus 'harvesting' in which they are placed in a machine that keeps them alive as long as possible while constantly draining their blood).
Basically, Edward ends up on the run with the humans after discovering that there may very well be an actual cure for vampirism, thus negating the need for an alternative blood supply. This key to the cure lies within human-turned-vampire-turned-human Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac (Willem Dafoe), and has to do with getting a mild sunburn. There really is not a whole lot to spoil, but I will not divulge any more of the plot lest it ruin what fun there is in viewing the film - and it is a fairly decent one at that. The performances are fantastic, the premise is interesting and thought-provoking, and the nighttime world of the vampires is quite a marvelous spectacle to behold. Unfortunately, Daybreakers suffers from one glaring fault that stops it short of being an outstanding film: the ending. The final half hour of the film is riddled with horrid pacing, ludicrous turns in the plot that seem only to serve as an excuse to push the R-rating as far as possible with blood and gore violence, and it culminates in a finale that is wholly unremarkable. The lack of any punch in the closing scene is pretty much due to its ambiguity, which is a characteristic that - in this rare case - is just not quite admirable. Still, I believe it is worth seeing for the originality and Sam Neill alone.
Moving on to the The Book of Eli, a post-apocalyptic western starring Denzel Washington as Eli (of course), Mila Kunis, and Gary Oldman. Eli is a wanderer traveling west in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. He was been traveling west across America for thirty years. I hope that last sentence raised a few eyebrows, as it certainly baffled me as to how the hell he has yet to reach his destination. Anyways, leaps in logic aside, Eli is carrying with him a book (which, if you cannot guess from the trailers alone, is a copy of the Holy Bible). In a world where almost all religious texts have been destroyed and mankind has been without them for a few decades, it comes as no surprise that a man such as the ruthless Carnagie (Oldman), the ruler of a town Eli stumbles upon, is seeking just such a text so that he may use it to expand his power. Naturally, Eli is not about to let the book fall into the wrong hands, and so with the help of a girl named Solara (Kunis), he tries to continue his journey west.
There are a number of gorgeous fight scenes throughout the film - one near the beginning in which Eli dispatches a group of cannibals in silhouette stands out as particularly exquisite, and suspense is built quite effectively all throughout. As usual, Gary Oldman shines in his performance, and the rest of the cast is excellent as well. The premise is one that is not quite as original as it could have been, but it is nonetheless one that is captivating in its mystery and the unraveling therein. Similar to Daybreakers, however, what is left after all the secrets are revealed is lackluster at best. There is a profound twist that is not very surprising at all, nor does it really seem very logical. Furthermore, the end of the film provides no real catharsis; nothing is quite solved - at least not to the degree that it makes much difference in the world one way or the other - and this is topped off with a final scene that is almost impossible to take seriously.
Finally, a tidbit of news, as I neglected to mention it earlier: Five Minutes of Heaven, the Liam Neeson flick I mentioned that I have been waiting to see, has had a DVD release date announced: April 27th, 2010. Here is the trailer for the film:
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