This Movie Is About: an epidemic that has wiped out 99 percent of the world's population. The rest of the 12 million survivors who are immune to this virus have been killed by the infected. All but one man survives alone in New York, Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith). He, along with his K9 friend, Samantha, wander around New York keeping busy and hunting the wild game that has got into the city now with its inhabitants shun from the day light. They have a pretty relaxed routine all the way until night time. That's when the fun starts. They live outside the city in a house that is a barricade. The only thing that keeps Robert from killing himself is the belief that there is a cure out there that can save whoever is left. That cure has been coming for three years and everything he's done hasn't worked. It's getting grim and the solitude is starting to get to Robert as a life alone just doesn't seem worth living anymore. That's the situation when Robert believes that he's found a cure to the virus only to find an unexpectant visitor which leads to a crisis that will force Robert to choose between his own life and his legacy.
You Should Watch This Movie Because: the general consensus going in was that if they've already made this movie two times, then the third time has to be the charm right? That's what people might think and they have good reason to. There is plenty of action despite things not happening during the day and there are some great character drama even if the movie has one actor for the most of it. The special effects are well done with the vampires and they come out and are as bad ass as you would expect a modern vampire to be. They even go a bit overboard with the way they present themselves and sometimes it's a bit annoying. But overall, they are well done and gives the movie that extra horror touch that it needs.
What's Hot: When I say that Robert is alone, that's not quite true. For most of the movie, he's accompanied by his dog, Sam. Which was given to him by his daughter just before she was killed on a helicopter out of the quarantine zone. They have a good relationship, Robert and the Sam, and they do everything together. Robert has grown quite attached to the dog and there are some brilliant exchanges between the two that are both heart warming and melancholic at the same time. The climax is also one to remember. Sure the ending might not have been as great as the 1951 novel, but they really devoted themselves to making their version of the ending the best that it could possibly have been. And damn was it great. The special effects and how everything came together with Robert being a smart scientist and the whole single person versus a mass force was really flushed out. It was hella entertaining and definitely worth the build up.
What's Not Hot: And so we get to the ending. As I have mentioned above, I don't think the ending is as strong as the original which was written in 1951. It's not just the ending actually. It's the whole theme and meaning of the story. This rendition takes the concept and drastically changes it to make it more commercial and more generic. The original story had a great concept of what a legend means and how it applies to real life and real life situations. That idea takes Robert through a bunch of trials where he figures out which legends about vampires are true and which are not. This movie doesn't do that. It instead focuses on the legend of a man and his struggle to keep his legacy alive. The legacy of human beings that is. While that's all fine and good, I just think that they missed the boat by changing the original. In my opinion, if they had kept the original and mixed in the special effects and modern technology, this movie would have been something real special.
Last Comments: I Am Legend is a good third attempt at a classic story. The good out-weigh the bad as I was thoroughly entertained through out the film and even had problems watching parts of it because it was really scary! I didn't think this film would be able to frighten compared to some other modern horror movies but then again, it's not supposed to be a straight up horror. It's supposed to be a thriller/drama with horror bits and they do it justice. The story itself lacked the punch that the original concept had and even though they did well in committing to their vision of the story, I believe that this version is tainted because of the studio's attempt to make it more commercial and less philosophical. If they decide to make this movie a fourth time 15 years later, I hope they go back to 1951 and give that concept and theme a good look over because I believe that the original mixed in with modern cinema can create something real special instead of a just another above-average Hollywood film.
Breaking It Down:
Story: 7.6 (Richard Matheson: novel, Akiva Goldsman & Mark Protosevich: screenplay)
Direction: 8.8 (Francis Lawrence)
Acting: 8.0
Cinematography: 7.2
Music/Sound: 7.5
Entertainment Value: 7.8 (not an average)
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