I Am Legend

I just saw this movie today, the day it opened here. And was deeply, deeply moved.

I've got to start with the scenes of a deserted New York City post-apocalypse. These were so very, very moving; and very, very convincing. The clips in the trailers for the movie were good, but you really have to see the full panoply of close-up shots, distance shots, etc to really appreciate the sheer scale of what this movie is depicting. There's something of On the Beach and Resident Evil and of any number of disaster movies and zombie movies here. But none of them do justice to the New York depicted here. This is a New York City we see large-scale and micro-scale in order to show us the environment in which the main character is acting.

And Will Smith is simply brilliant as the sole survivor, Robert Neville. Will delivers movingly and convincingly on a script that really focuses on giving us a picture of "what it would be like" ... to be the last man on earth, living off the land in NYC. This is the real strength of this movie: there's really not a lot of blood or gore or zombie scenes at all. Yet I was riveted as Robert goes through his "typical days" in NYC. Every moment was full of pathos and full of menace, too. And occasionally we got some relief from Smith's trademark humor that blended seamlessly with the rest of his performance to give us "what it would be like" with a powerful delivery that just leaves me almost breathless.

There's an effective use of flashbacks that partly tell us the story of how we got to where we're at in this grim New York City; and the flashbacks also serve to give us an overwhelming contrast between Life Before and Life After the apocalyptic disaster wiped out the city. Yet use of flashback was sparing, which I found all the more effective.

Cinematography was excellent throughout, the storyline and script are brilliant, the use of a dog, Samantha, as a key actor was perfect to show us both Robert as companion and Robert as lonely, isolated survivor.

I won't give away the ending, but think it was satisfying as far as it goes, but not nearly as appealing, from my angle, as the foregoing material. That brings up my one complaint: the title. By the end of the movie, we have some sense of the meaning of the title. Yet it still seems to me to feel cheesy and really unworthy of the movie.

But that's a minor plaint. If you haven't seen this movie, and would enjoy seeing a really powerful story about a survivor in post-apocalypse New York City, hey, go check out this flick. It's really worth it.

Two thirds of this film is wonderful entertainment, both in scope and story telling, and in Will Smith we have a cracking central performance that carries the film with consummate ease, sadly the final third undoes all the great promise and tension building that had gone before it.

After a genetic engineered cancer curing virus wipes out practically all of mankind, Robert Neville {Will Smith} appears to be the sole surviving human on earth, the only company he has is the family dog and an army of virus infected mutants that can only come out in the dark. That Neville is a former scientist who is immune to the deadly strain is a bonus as it means he can work on a potential cure.

Yes it's daft, and yes it's contrived, but there sure is a lot of good stuff to enjoy before the films major failing surfaces. Firstly is Will Smith's performance, there is no doubting he is a major star these days, but here he also cements his standing as a bona fide A lister of note. He layers the performance so well, his character not only has to deal with the heavy threat of being killed by the mutants at night, he also has to fight his own isolation, mans inherent need for companionship is a tortured thing when you appear to be the sole beneficiary of gods green earth.

Secondly the setting of a barren desolate New York is eerily staggering, overgrown with foliage and stalked by lions searching for food, it really is a big screen must to embrace the scope of it. Thirdly the mutants themselves are scary enough, but they honestly would have been better served being played by human actors rather than the CGI used that brings very mixed results, and fourthly the tension building is pitch perfect, the makers manage to have you on the edge of your seat gasping for a solution to this cracking story unfolding, but then...

They throw it all away by a rushed ending that had me positively seething, a quick turn of events should be a prelude to a fully fleshed out finale but instead we get a quick wham bam, oh The End. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth on leaving the cinema and frankly the audience deserves better, and in fact so does Will Smith, did they run out of money? Well that I don't know, but what I do know is that we so nearly had a genre classic to look fondly on for years to come, shame that. 6.5/10

Footnote: Having just watched the alternate version that is readily available on disc formats, I have to say that as weak and as frustrating as the theatrical ending is, the alternate ending is far worse, trite and totally misplaced, they chose the better ending of the two for sure.

In 2o12, New York post-holocaust caused by a virus, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is only survivor along with his dog . He's accompanied by wife's (Sally Richardson) records and his son, developing by means of various flashbacks. Neville is immune to the effects of a biologically engineered plague and while fighting an army of blood-suckers bent on destroying what's left of the world and constantly harassing him . The pale-skinned mutants are led by a sneering and creepy leader , they want to eradicate what is left of mankind , but they feel Men are responsible for the disaster and this , of course , includes Neville. But Neville isn't only survivor , there early appear a few survivors, a woman (Alice Braga) and his son. The last man on earth is not alone. Welcome to earth. Population 1. Before Logan... There was... I Am Legend.

Strong intrigue and suspense with considerable violence based on novel by Richard Matheson , which is also the basis for the film ¨The last Man on Earth¨ directed by Sidney Salkow and starred by Vincent Price . Furthermore, the classic version(1971) with Charlton Heston and directed by Boris Sagal .

This is a blockbuster production manages to convey an eerie atmosphere to dismay . The film packs chills , noisy action , tension , thrills , terror and results to be quite entertaining . Exceptional performance by Will Smith , usual player of spectacular Sci-fi movies (Men in black , Independence day , I robot). Here appears uncredited in special cameo as a Doctor , Emma Thomson . Interesting screenplay by Akiva Goldsman based on script written for ¨Omega man¨. Atmospheric , adequate musical score fitting to action and suspense by James Newton Howard . The motion picture was professionally directed by Francis Lawrence in his second film , as he's usually video-clips director (for Britney Spears , Jennifer Lopez , among others) and occasionally filmmaker (Constantine) . Rating : Above average and well worth watching.

If I could sum this movie up in one sentence, it would be this: Go Will. Will Smith is the driving force of I Am Legend. His performance as Dr. Robert Neville is impeccable. Living in a deserted NY city, his acting is reminiscent of Tom Hanks in Cast Away, but instead of a volleyball, he has mannequins and a faithful German Shepard named Sam. His basement, a retro-fitted, high-tech lab to find a cure for the disease that has turned the population of the entire planet into mutant, zombie-like, hive mind, blood-thirsty monsters, and, for some reason, Robert is immune. His days, spent hunting. His nights, sleeping with a high-powered rifle and hoping that the mutants don't find him. Keeping the movie flowing are well placed flashbacks that show what happened to Robert's family and why he is there. The movie falters a bit at the end, maybe at the last 5 minutes, but it doesn't ruin the plot or acting put forth. Containing wonderful cinematography and CG, I Am Legend is a spectacular film that I will be seeing again! PS - Shout out to my NY National Guardsmen in this film! Great job!

The way that they created the look of Manhattan in this movie was just wonderful and Will Smith pulls off one of his best acting turns as Robert Neville. The way he has his days planned out and still attempting the research to find a cure for the virus is a key part to the development of both character and plot.

Samantha (Sam) plays a strong part in the movie and is a great companion, friend and protector figure for Smith. The way he holds conversations with Sam is very touching indeed and makes you really feel that Sam is integral part of his survival and sanity.

Just a great movie, and I will not offer any of the things that will give the ending away. I can watch this movie many more times as it is that interesting and each time, it seems to reveal something that I missed in the original viewing.