VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: I Am Legend

I was surprised that a movie with so much Will Smith in it was as good as it was. While I would have hoped for a better ending, our interest was indeed greatly held throughout the entire movie. UPDATE: Read about the alternate ending (with spoilers!) HERE — it seems far superior to what was released.

It looks like they decided to Americanize the concept of 28 Weeks Later, without the “also being a video game” angle that Resident Evil had (Resident Evil:Apocalypse and 28 Weeks Later basically being the same movie). Well, technically, “I Am Legend” happened 156 weeks later, but who’s counting?

The movie takes place 3 yrs after the apocalypse, with Will Smith being the only known survivor. One must utilize one’s suspension of disbelief to look past the “coincidence” that a military biologist who knows how to create new vaccines againt virii just happens to be the only human being with immunity to the apocalyptic virus that turned everyone else into rabid zombies. Yes: Will Smith is that fucking special.

If you can ignore that … You’ll come to care about Will Smith. And even his dog. I hate dogs, but … well, let’s just say that during the movie, certain feelings are evoked for the dog, and even I felt them.

Also semi-unbelievable was the timing of the whole mannequin incident in relation to the newcomers. The idea of having something happen just in the nick of time after THREE FRIGGIN’ YEARS is … bad.

But most Hollywood mainstream big production movies have some sort of obvious flaws … They’re just trying to crank the movies out as fast as they can. Yet, despite these flaws, the movie held our attention throughout. The 720p high-definition definitely lent itself well to some of the outdoor panaramas in the movie.

I wish the ending had been a bit happier. It was a shame that none of the research was preserved. But I guess they were sticking to the original work the movie was based on? (Was it?)

becky Says:

March 14, 2008 at 10:38 PM

I haven’t read the source material, but this story has been filmed twice before: there’s a ’50’s version called The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, and an early ’70’s version called The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. Both have pretty downbeat endings. Haven’t seen I Am Legend yet but will probably check it out when it goes to DVD.

parthena Says:

March 15, 2008 at 11:57 AM

I’ve been wanting to check this movie out, actually. I know a lot of people tend to not like Will Smith, but I don’t think he’s that bad an actor, and I’m sort of drawn to post-apocalypse-type movies, anyway.. ;)

Clint Says:

March 15, 2008 at 1:54 PM

Exactly. The type of movie is far more important to me than the actor.

tgaw Says:

March 15, 2008 at 3:00 PM

Huh. I would have to say I am pretty fond of Will Smith. I never thought his presence in a film would be perceived as a handicap?

Quick correction- Will Smith wasn’t the only human immune to the virus. I think it was 90% of the population dead immediately, 1% of the population was immune and then the remaining 9% turned into the dark seekers. I was under the impression that most of those immune people were devoured by the zombies.

With that aspect, I could see one with military training (aka Will Smith) having a better shot of surviving the dark seeker feeding frenzy than your run-of-the-mill survivor.

So, that part is decent for me to digest. Where I think one really needs to rely on their suspension of disbelief skills is when the newcomers somehow manage to drive to an island that had all its bridges blown up.

WTF?!? If you are going to include that obvious of a loophole in the film, perhaps you should not keep reminding everyone that you blew up the bridges on the MOVIE POSTER.