A cat gets skewered by an arrow, bandits get gutted and decapitated; a man is murdered and a woman is raped.

'Book of Eli' hits you with all of that in the first 15 minutes. But then, there's nothing subtle about the Hughes Brothers latest film.

Unfortunately, there is not much that is original either?

Denzel Washington is Eli, a bad-ass travelling west through a post-Apocalyptic America, where survivors of 'the big flash' have succumbed to their baser instincts. Eli is carrying the last Bible in print and will do anything to protect it? anything.

He is following the word of God and has been walking for decades without question. 'Book of Eli' may look like an action movie, but really it is a thinly-disguised punt of Christianity and a rip-off of Mad Max.

The baddies ? led by an over-the-top Gary Oldman ? have bad teeth, filthy hair and a penchant for goggles. The good guys can kick the shit out of anybody and have a penchant for being self-righteous.

The plot is just silly.

Eli has a bible, Carnegie (Oldman) wants it, and he spends the entire film trying to get it.

An assortment of dirt bags get in Eli's way and they get gutted or have their heads chopped off by a massive blade. Eli doesn't want any trouble, mind you. They force his hand? every time.

Fight scene follows fight scene, sermon follows sermon, until finally there is a big twist at the end. It's a decent little twist, but is has no real impact on what comes before it.