I have a bad habit of getting around to reviewing movies far after it becomes relevant. Cest la vie, this is another of those reviews.
Will Smith’s I Am Legend is a tale about a man and his dog… And zombie vampires. In short, Smith plays Robert Neville, a government scientist, who is trapped in the gritty future as a man alone in the city of New York. Set a few years in the future, Neville is working on both trying to stay alive and also on finding a way to save the victims of a mysterious plague that has befallen mankind. For some reason, Neville is immune, and tries to find a serum that can cure those that are already infected by breaking down his bloodline and granting that immunity to the plagued.
Visually, I Am Legend doesn’t disappoint. The CGI effects on the plauge-ridden people isn’t perfect, but it’s not bad either. You can definitely tell that they’re computer generated, but it’s not terrible. Where Legend really shines is in the production of a full New York City of the future, filled with animals and beginning to become overrun by neglect. The film maker, who also did Constantine (and, uhm, a bunch of pop music videos) - Francis Lawrence - obviously realized that the set for this film would be the maker or breaker for the audience.
All told, Legend is a good story that takes advantage of the fact that Will Smith is an incredibly charismatic actor. Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, the bulk of the movie centers just on the one character, and like Hanks, he has slowly lost his mind.
Look for I Am Legend to come out on DVD and if you didn’t get to see it in theaters, make sure to rent this one and see how you like it.
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