The latest film from the Hughes brothers, Albert and Allen, is a traditional Hollywood-style, post-apocalyptic action flick. “The Book of Eli” comes almost a decade after their last release, 2001’s “From Hell,” and stars Denzel Washington as the titular hero on a divine quest to reintroduce the gospel to a nihilistic wasteland.

Denzel is compelling as always, but alongside the screenplay creates a character grounded much more in physicality than psychology or spirituality. He is relatively singular, less a complex individual than an incarnation of cosmic will.  The road he walks is not a path of discovery, but a series of trials. With each step forward, he becomes that much more sure of himself and his purpose, which would make sense as a product of his boundless faith were the theme of religion more developed, but it comes more as a limitation to his character than a defining trait.

Gary Oldman reprises his role as a career villain after a decade spent as a good guy in the “Harry Potter” and “Batman” franchises. This time, he plays Carnegie, a megalomaniacal bookworm who built one Old West town and has aspirations to expand his empire using the cowing properties of the Bible. But the character is never developed beyond those bare bones of motivation. The film fails to create a detestable or at all compelling character. Sometimes Carnegie is established as evil through humorously over-dramatic music in the vein of “24,” while other times the audience is supposed to have faith in Eli’s reading of the sparse situation.

Not much actually happens. The plot is bare, resulting in a film built on feelings over actions. This is disappointing because the action in “The Book of Eli” is unquestionably its finest asset. The violence and choreography are near omnipresent, but when it comes to telling a story cinematically through camerawork and characters, the film sputters and stops. In this case, it comes almost as a boon that the film is formulaic. Without a prior understanding of the Hollywood formula for action films, “The Book of Eli” would be a confusing fare.

The action ends up carrying the movie, which falters in its absence at the final chapter and conclusion. The film offers an only slightly nuanced approach to Christianity. Eli tells us that the reason his book is so rare is that after “the flash,” many people blamed the book for the conflict and burned all the copies they could find. But when push comes to shove, the film is still a blind affirmation of dogmatic Christianity. The conflict between Carnegie and Eli is decided not through rational thought, exposure or even machismo, but divine intervention. So the audience is left with the truistic ideology that while men are imperfect, God will ultimately handpick the righteous from the false prophets. What’s the difference between that philosophy and “might makes right”? It’s just a justification of the status quo without regard to rational thought.

“The Book of Eli” could have been a lot worse. It succeeds in a few key areas, but ultimately offers no meaningful reason to watch. If a formulaic action flick is what you’re after, go see “Sherlock Holmes” instead. The stylized action there from notable, veteran director Guy Ritchie is on par with “The Book of Eli,” but it excels in other measures. It is funny, well acted and the message is a rare affirmation of reason over fear and superstition.