The Book Of Eli.

Here's a movie that reminded me how I missed the post-apocalytic genre.

From the very 1st shots, you know you're in for some awe-inspiring visuals and the movie doesn't disappoint. The desolated wasteland have that kind of feel that just lingers in your mind after you've gone home.
As an action movie, it also stands its ground, with some very cool action scenes and an unflinching violence that sticks close to the harsh "western" world the characters live in.

The Hughes brothers, however, have a bigger vision than just that. Some people will no doubt complain about the religious subtext and I would think they're wrong. This is not a religious movie, it's a movie about religion. The tone and the very nature of the main character make it quite clear: it's more about faith, about being driven. What a person would be able to overcome, given a goal.
As such I see it as a very good companion piece to Man On Fire (with a similarly tough Denzel Washington).

Eli doesn't even want to teach what he knows he doesn't want to "use" his book, unlike his "nemesis" Carnegie. His goal is to preserve a bit of culture that is most important to him, although he doesn't even live by it.
That makes the movie steer clear of any judgement on the content of the book. Beliefs are just part of us. Any other context could carry the same idea.

So what was a difficult subject, screwed up by many movies before it, just make sense in that context & tone.
And it brings in this extra dimension, takes it beyond its own genre.

Being delivered with such a moody, bad-ass & epic SciFi movie will certainly be one of the nicest things to happen this year...