zor_prime

After skimming the book, and having watched the previous two attempts at I Am Legend, I went in hoping for the best, but expecting mediocrity, (or something like the two recent Resident Evil films)... But I was quite surprised and entertained by what I experienced. Though it's true that most of the CG in this film is not very good, it's apparent to me that CG isn't the film's selling point, or what it leans on for merit. It's a well acted, well paced, well directed, and well adapted piece. Honestly, the 'monster' aspect never needed to be front-and-center visually for it to be effective. I thought it was implemented very well (largely in the dark and ultra fast moving scenes where the imagination can assist).

I was hoping for a departure from "The Omega Man", which I thought was an incredibly silly film of what I consider to be the "A-Team variety". But, for the first 30 minutes or so, there were just so many analogs to Charlton Heston's performance that it was getting predictable (though the Will Smith version is hardly as pompous as Heston's). Very quickly, though, I forgot all about that concern and the movie really came into it's own. Smith's character, the environment, and the adversary were all quite different and very well conceived.

I was also expecting vampires (a genre that I'm no big fan of), and was pleasantly surprised at what I found in this film's antagonist to be (which is 28 times more endearing to me than vampires).

The third and probably most detracting thing I was expecting from this film was for it to suffer from the standard droll devices of a big-budget blockbuster: the requisite love story, Rambo shoot-em-up action, and a dialog-over-story plot basis. Oh, and not to mention headlining a traditionally "feel-good" star actor that could probably run for president one day. Fortunately, none of these normally ever-present problems intruded to ruin this film. And though it was indeed an uncharacteristically dark role for Smith in several ways, he pulled it off brilliantly.

Maybe it could have been a little longer, answering more questions and allowing more of the psychodrama to filter in, but it's possible that would have spoiled the excellent balance of jump-in-your seat action vs. the plot/tension building interstital scenes. The theater I saw this in was packed with plenty viewers from the younger crowd (it's hard to believe this film is only PG-13 in the US). However, the entire theater was completely silent and caught in the grip of the films action, story line, and excellent pacing.

I noticed a lot of people taking advantage of what could be considered the 'comic relief' of this film. However, I found some of the 'humorous' parts less than laughable, and more disturbing than anything. When you see this, really try to understand this man's environment and then you will probably better understand his psyche.

I will look forward to more from this relatively unknown writer/director team.

In the not too distant future, viral weaponry research and development goes all wrong. What follows is an entertaining vision for any fan of zombie pandemic stories or just plain world/human survival style films. The first film in this franchise is decidedly the best with as-believable-as-can-be ideas, nifty effects, a decent (not over-the-top) story. The second and third films, however, move pretty far away from the basic zombie survival story and much further into character-based stories with a focus on splinter/spin-off concepts like wildly comic book/cartoonish science fiction elements. So if you enjoy movies that are based on comic books or video games that will require you to accept a lot of really over-the-top ideas (like superpowers, supernatural powers, CHUD-style mutation, magic, etc.), then you will still enjoy the latter two films since they are not bad on that merit. They're also okay as general apocalyptic survival stories. However, as a fan of the zombie genre, if you were expecting a solid continuation of the basic story of zombie infection from the first film, these sequels will let you down. The Romero-style zombies in these films are really just extras that apparently just needed to be in the background making room for more intense and faster (though much less believable) antagonists. Maybe this is because films like 28 Days/Weeks and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead have done much to turn the volume down on lumbering old-style zombies and Paul W.S. Anderson felt that he needed to crank up the action factor.

In RE3, our heroes finally figure out that moving to near the arctic circle would be a good move (you know, COLD + ZOMBIE = IMMOBILE ZOMBIE), and decide to hoof it to Alaska after learning of a possible isolated colony of survivors there. There are a number of new twists on the infection (you will be thinking of Bud The Zombie and/or Bud The CHUD at a few points), and there will be more Boyle/Snyder style zombie goodness to contend with mixed in with the normal zombie hoards.

There were, however, some hold-out thematic elements from the first two films. There are zombie Doberman pinchers, creepy hologram girls with British accents, plenty of zombie-around-the-corner jump-in-your-seat moments, and of course Alice either naked or in hot Road Warrior-style tactical gear. There is the terrible T-Virus infection, and the perfect anti-virus strait out of the X-Files. There are new hints at the answers to old questions, and some new things to think about that still relate to the basic T-Virus. And without a doubt, there's the recurring theme of the evil big corporation (The Umbrella Corp. A.K.A. Halliburton + Merck + United Healthcare) which caused the mess but has managed to out-survive governments and massive population decimation. The moral here? What happens when a capitalistic society allows a private entity to become too powerful? The evil private scientists always plot to rule the world at the expense of the common population.

Anyway, I don't go to the theater to see films often, but I try to make it to the big-budget zombie flicks... However, on the merit of being a zombie film, I could have waited for this one to roll to DVD...

When I first saw this film as a 12 year-old (what were my parents thinking?) I was unimpressed and recall thinking the movie was stupid. Now that I have done some research into the Vudu (the politically correct spelling) Tetrodotoxin zombies (and have begun to enjoy zombie theory in general), I appreciated this film much more.

Though there are some cheeseball scenes (which I would expect in any Wes Craven film), I think this one was was intended to be taken serious, and some of these pre-CGI effects are done very well. The topic of real zombies has been an interesting subject since US armed forces veterans began bringing stories of the "zombie powder" Vudu traditions back from Haiti in the early part of the last century. Movies like White Zombie and several books detail the application of this medical condition into forced labor or worse.

While Serpent and the Rainbow was entertaining, it's not likely that real zombie powder is standardized in such a way that it's efficacy will follow any reliable pattern, such as the Soap Opera-style "rules" described by the good doctor. i.e.: total zero vital signs, a 12 hour effectiveness, etc. Additionally, this type of toxin will generally leave it's victim severely brain damaged, and most likely good-for-nothing. So, this film takes a bit of creative liberty, and a good imagination will help you enjoy it. Though it's nearly 20 years old, not much is dated (even most of the effects), and it's still a fun viewing now.

Snag it on your DVR!