New 'Book of Eli' Trailer Evokes Fallout 3
Denzel Washington Thriller Looks Eerily Similar to Acclaimed RPG
Jul 28, 2009
Most works of post-apocalyptic fiction are bound to share numerous ideas, motifs, and stylistic themes.
Indeed, films and games in the genre are almost self-referential and interchangeable in this regard as they almost all portray ravaged landscapes, decaying societies and plenty of violence.
Bethesda's Fallout 3 and its predecessors are no exception, as the games borrow heavily from influential post-apocalyptic films that came before it - The Road Warrior and A Boy and His Dog in particular.
But the conspicuous similarities between the critically praised 2008 role-playing game and the new Warner Bros. Pictures movie are a bit too hard to ignore - especially when taking into consideration the film's own connection to the gaming world.
Book of Eli Trailer Depicts a Wasteland Full of Deja Vu Moments
The new Book of Eli trailer, which can be seen here, opens with shots of a ravaged forest. An ominous green glow surrounds the burnt tree stumps and a faint dusting of what appears to be nuclear fallout is seen floating to the ground.
The camera then zooms in and settles on a discarded gas mask, which brings to mind the familiar protective helms worn by the Brotherhood of Steel in the Fallout universe.
From there, the two-minute trailer reveals an American wasteland 30 years into the future that looks a whole lot like the desecrated D.C. landscape players traversed in Fallout 3 - the aftermath, it is explained, of a devastating war that "tore a whole in the sky."
Like the lone wanderer in the game, Denzel Washington, the film's ostensible hero, is seen trekking through the rubble and surveying the land atop crumbling highway overpasses, with cars dangling precariously over the edges. These scenes in particular look like they were pulled straight out of the game.
Later scenes show Washington's character entering a ramshackle town that bears a striking resemblance to Fallout 3's Canterbury Commons location. The armed nomad is also shown walking a long, empty road, with a mountainous, desert vista behind him. All that's missing from the picture is Dogmeat, the canine companion players could recruit in the game.
Even the obligatory thugs in the film resemble the morally bankrupt raiders of the Capital Wasteland - although none of the foes in the trailer sport mohawks or sadist armor, sadly.
But perhaps most telling of all likenesses is the movie's use of a similar typeface to that seen in Fallout 3. Even the slow fade in and fade out of the title and the word "Believe" at the end of the trailer brings to mind a similar technique used in early trailers for Fallout 3, one of which can be seen here.
At first glance, most of these similarities could be dismissed as superficial coincidences.
But considering the film's screenplay was written by Gary Whitta, a former editor-in-chief of PC Gamer magazine and occasional game designer, it's reasonable to assume the Fallout games played a role in the shaping of this movie.
Whether all of this is meant to be a deliberate homage to the games is still unclear.
Book of Eli Tells Its Own Tale of Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Regardless of the visual congruence between The Book of Eli and Fallout 3, the film is set to tell its own unique tale of civilization's struggle for redemption.
Washington's lone hero character, it appears, is the last hope for humanity's survival.
In his possession is a sacred text that holds the secret to the future of civilization itself and, as the trailer clearly shows, he won't hesitate to kill, maim and destroy in order to protect the book's contents.
The film, which is directed by the Hughes brothers and also stars Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis, is set to be released January 2010.
 |
 |
