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In a post-apocalyptic world where water, ChapStick and batteries are among the most valuable commodities on the planet, one item remains the most cherished and coveted of all: “The Book of Eli.”

Mankind has reached a point where human life no longer holds any worth.

A cataclysmic event that has destroyed much of the population has left the survivors in a constant state of conflict.

Those who haven’t resorted to cannibalism must scavenge the land for sundry items and keep an eye out for the roving gangs of bandits, many of which are overseen by a despotic opportunist (Gary Oldman) with delusions of rebuilding society so that he can rule over it.

All he needs is one book to unlock the secrets of power. And when a stranger named Eli (Denzel Washington) strides into his realm with a closely guarded tome in tow, he may have what he needs.

Except Eli has no intentions of letting his book fall into the wrong hands, and he intends to keep it safe by any means necessary.

Washington gives one of his more memorable performances as Eli, an action hero with the physical prowess of Chuck Norris and the philosophical resolve of a monk. With memories of Washington in “American Gangster” and “The Great Debaters” still lingering in the subconscious, it’s peculiar to see those two personalities — violent enforcer, advocate of enlightenment — meld together for his latest.

Oldman uses the same method with a whole line of crazies to choose from in crafting the character of Carnegie, but he keeps himself relatively levelheaded regardless.

Mila Kunis provides an innocent, youthful touch to the story as Solara, the daughter of Carnegie’s wife (Jennifer Beals), who quickly grows attached to Eli and the message he carries with him.

The allegorical elements of the movie drive home the point of the dangers of manipulating and abusing the tenets of religion with time to spare. Gary Whitta’s screenplay is a little too on the nose to be as powerful as it could be in terms of social commentary, but it excels in the realm of “end of civilization” pictures.

Washington owns Will Smith’s similar role in “I Am Legend,” while sibling directors Albert and Allen Hughes shape a thoroughly believable wasteland environment, complete with bleak, de-saturated cinematography that makes the dirty, depressing landscape look all the more austere.

But this world not only looks forbidding — it looks possible, particularly if the world doesn’t clean up its act.

The fact that so few people in Eli’s world can read is scary enough.

Though it contains a story that’s notably comparable to the currently circulating film version of Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road,” “The Book of Eli” comfortably and efficiently functions as an action movie with a message.

And whether that message is the deliciousness of cat meat or the power of the written word, it works.