The thing about Book of Eli is that it really requires some sort of receptiveness to the evangelical Christian narrative to work for any given viewer. Whether a Christian or not, it really requires some personal belief of a certain bent regarding sacrifice for a greater good beyond "do unto others...". As a post-apoccalyptic action movie, there are a couple of nice fight sequences and one-liners, but that's about it. I dug the desaturated look. Gary Oldman and Ray Stevenson are fun as teeth-gnashing baddies, and Denzel Washington is sufficiently oak-like as titular hero Eli.

The extras on the Blu-ray are primarily focused on theoretical post-apocalyptic life and the role of theology in that type of world. The featurettes are Blu-only. I admire the Hughes Brothers greatly, not just as working directors who've been stomped on by studios and kept on trucking, but as consummate artists who are intensely detail-driven. I don't believe that making mass-market movies equals selling out, but making them with a particular intent sure as hell can be. Even though I didn't particularly fall for the movie, these guys aren't phonies. I'd rather be less-than-thrilled with one of their movies than be forced to sit through another two-hour product placement.