Film Review -- I Am Legend (PG-13)

Directed by Francis Lawrence
Warner Brothers/HeyDay Productions
Released December 14, 2007

Yup, I did it. I faced my fear of the winter blockbuster and went to see I Am Legend. I have to admit, I had seen adds for this movie for so long, I was honestly convinced that it was going to be good. And Will Smith is somewhat the man so it had a good chance of greatness but fell just short.

The premise of the film is the bomb. A guy (Will Smith) who is the last man left standing in New York City (or the world) going against all odds to prevail. A survivor of a worldwide viral plague, Robert Neville holds onto his hopes to save humanity at all costs. What you might not know is that, more than the obvious issues of being the last man alive like insanity or starvation, the real issue for Robert Neville are nighttime dwelling zombie/vampire people. But as some sort of military scientist who vowed to save the city of New York, Neville fights and tests the zombie people to end the world’s plague. Oh yea, he has a dog named Sam, too. And it’s a girl.

Let me go on to say that once again I was blown away by Hollywood’s special effects. The shots of New York City with the complete absence of humanity were very, very well done. Surprisingly, in the zombie-ridden city, lions and tigers are also wondering the streets. The animation of the city was great, the zombies okay, and the animals pretty weak. It was weird that the animation would vary but I suppose recreating Manhattan is less difficult than a CGI-ing a tiger. And I mean, tigers? Did the Bronx Zoo collapse or something? Super random. Comparable to the wolves in The Day After Tomorrow.

Overall, it was what it was – a zombie movie. But I wouldn’t even really call these dudes zombies – they were more like blood crazed, hive dwelling, vampire-zombies that screamed like the skeletons in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and butted their heads like those weird dinosaurs (pictured below). All in all, they were still super freaky.

Stegoceras. A dome-headed, bipedal dinosaur.

I should have known better walking into this movie that the dude who directed Constantine (Francis Lawrence) could not make a story worth watching. Stuff just happened – there was no structure. As per par, it was a blockbuster with a good premise, great antagonists and a super hunk superstar as the lead (and Will Smith was so hot, ohmgee). Beware of some random religious undertones and a couple of tearjerker moments. And am I wrong to believe that if 99 percent of Manhattan is dead and everyone else is zombie-fied that the electricity would probably stop functioning? Just a thought. A good thriller. Does anyone know if the book was great? Let me know.

2.5 out of 4
P.S. Will Smith talks to mannequins. Not nearly as well done or effective as Tom Hanks talking to volleyballs in Castaway to show the deterieration of the human social conscience in times of isolation. WILSON!