I Am Legend

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.

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.

When I first saw the trailer for I Am Legend, all i could think of was, "I have to see this movie!". Luckily i got to see an early screening of the film with a friend and I have to say that this is a disturbingly realistic film that depicts a post-apocalyptic New York being overrun by the mutated victims of a widespread virus. Overall, this movie delivers great action sequences and a great story, along with a shocking ending. Will Smith's performance is outstanding and makes a great Robert Neville. There are a lot of sequences in the film that are disturbing but along with that, takes you to the edge of your seat! I would have to say that this is one of the best films out this year. It's nice to see an original, amazing movie released before the end of the year. You don't really get a lot of those these days in general. Although there are some things in this film which are left unexplained, the intensity of the creatures and the thickness of the plot makes up for it. All in all, you will not be disappointed. Great way to end the year.

8/10

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.

The 1954 sci-fi/vampire novel "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson has now been filmed three times: as "The Last Man On Earth" in 1964 originally scripted by Matheson himself (which I have never seen), as "The Omega Man" in 1971 without the vampire elements (which I have viewed three times), and now with the original title and expensive sets and special effects. This time the seemingly sole survivor of the worldwide pandemic Robert Neville is played by Will Smith who is an actor with real charisma and charm and considerable box office appeal who has beefed himself up for the role.

The main strength of this version is the location shots in a deserted New York City (a move from the Los Angeles of the book and earlier films) and, although the filming of these scenes apparently caused traffic chaos and much anger for local residents, they chillingly set the tone for this dystopian thriller. To see the silent streets around Times Square or South Street Seaport or the lone scientist fishing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art or playing golf on the "USS Intrepid" is to view this heaving metropolis as we have never experienced it before. The German shepherd dog who is Neville's sole companion deserves an honourable mention for showing greater thespian skills than most of the extras and stunt men.

The principal weakness of the movie, however, is the realisation of the surviving victims of the virus. The CGI characters are almost as silly as they are scary but, above all, they are presented as more animalistic than human. "The Omega Man" handled these characters much better presenting them as sad as well as scary. The other serious fault is the lack of clarity in the narrative - at times, it is simply unclear what is happening and why and a longer director's cut would be welcome. Finally the references to Ground Zero and God may play well with American audiences but will not be so resonant to audiences elsewhere in the world.