I Am Legend (2007)

I loved the alternate version of the film!

The movie, I Am Legend starring Will Smith, is based somewhat loosely on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. Now, most people don't know who Richard Matheson is, but this is the writer who influenced both Stephen King and Dean Koontz where they were teenagers, not to mention thousands of other kids, myself included. This was the man who wrote some of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes of the sixties, especially Nightmare at Thirty Thousand Feet. This is the author of the famous horror novel, Hell House, which was also turned into a film. Flipping the coin over, Matheson is author of the famous romance novel, Bid Time Return, and this was also turned into a major motion picture, though most people know it as Somewhere In Time. There's also the novel and movie, What Dreams May Come. Richard Matheson is therefore one of the greatest writers of the last half of the Twentieth Century. Without him, we might not have had Stephen King and Dean Koontz writing such brilliant books.

I Am Legend with Will Smith is the third adaptation of Matheson's novel, and Mr. Smith does a truly excellent job of portraying the lead character Robert Neville, capturing his aloneness and near insanity at being quite possibly the only human being alive. Neville was the military doctor experimenting with new drugs and viruses in the hope of finding a cure for cancer. What was discovered, however, wiped out most of the human population, while changing those still alive into flesh-eating zombies, or vampires, that move at a tremendous speed and seemed to be filled with an incurable amount of rage and violence. Because the creatures can't survive in the sunlight, Neville has control of the day when he and his German Shepard go out hunting for food and raiding the nearby DVD store. Neville is also still searching for a vaccine that will cure the symptoms of the virus. He uses zombies that he's captured, and the testing usually results in their deaths. The night, however, is totally controlled by the creatures, and Neville must always be home by dark in order to barricade himself inside his Washington Square apartment with its reinforced doors and window shutters. In time a confrontation is inevitable between Neville and the creatures, and this in turn eventually escalates into a full-blown battle at between life and death at the end.

I had mixed feeling about the movie when I first saw it at the theater. When the Two-Disc Special Edition came out, I found myself enjoying the longer alternate version with a different ending. I think the director, Francis Lawrence, and the Special Effects people did a fabulous job of creating New York City a few years down the road after the plague has done its nasty work, showing the desolate streets with non-moving cars and trash lining the curbs and weeds growing out of the pavement. And, Will Smith, plays perfectly to this setting, creating a character that is near the end of his rope and talks to mannequins in the DVD store as a way of keeping himself from going crazy, then goes berserk when one of the mannequins shows up in a different location. Unlike a lot of viewers, I loved the creatures. The scene where Smith has to go into the basement of a bank to find his dog and runs into a group of them standing together in a group had me dropping popcorn all over my lap. I felt myself in the darkness with him as well as the strong fear that he was experiencing. This is definitely one of the best horror scenes done in the last few years.

I believe the Two-Disc Special Edition with a longer version of the film and an alternate ending is the way to go. I do have to say that other than a different version of the movie, there isn't much else offered that I cared about. The makers of the DVD set could've done a feature on the long history of I Am Legend with an in-depth interview from Richard Matheson and a more detailed look at the making of the film. That will probably come in a later edition somewhere down the road. Anyway, this is a good, fun movie with some superb acting by Will Smith.


July 20, 2008

Solid; Stunning; Real

Based on the book by Richard Matheson, I Am Legend is the story of Robert Neville (Will Smith), sole survivor of a plague that, originally, was supposed to be a miracle cure for cancer three years before. Instead, most of the world died at the hands of the plague. Others mutated into bloodthirsty vampiric creatures; only a small percentage of humankind remained immune to the disease.

All alone in New York, virologist Neville tries to find a cure and "fix" the problem that stole the lives of everyone he knew and everyone he loved, while also trying to survive in a city infested with the infected and ferocious monsters.

Straight from the start you know you're in for a ride.

An empty city, overgrown and broken down.

A lone guy speeding through the streets in a fancy car, weapon at his side.

Animals prowling the streets, free of their cages.

The lock up.

The screams.

The howls.

Yeah, good stuff.

The intense feeling of atmosphere was what drew me into this flick. Immediately isolation sets in right from the first frame as we see Neville trying to maintain a normal life in a dead city (renting movies, talking to mannequins, keeping a routine), his eyes washed with pain yet underscored with determination to keep on going. This is a one-man show and I haven't seen it done so well since Cast Away (one of my favorite movies) years and years ago.

No complaints about Will Smith here and he's done a good job over his career to make you forget about the loud-mouthed homeboy he played in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Plus, did you see the guy in this film? He's ripped! Shredded. But, I guess, you'd have to be if you lived a world where vampire-zombie-human things prowled the streets and your life could be in jeopardy at the drop of a hat if you weren't too careful.

Which brings me to the monsters in question. Overall, well done. Creepy skin, no hair, loud growls, amazing agility and intensely vicious. Yeah, killer. Obviously they were CGI so they did look a tad rubbery and there were a few moments where it felt I was looking at a cartoon. Thankfully, those moments happened so fast and the action was so intense that I quickly forgot my quibble and moved on.

My only thing was the ending. Now, I never read the book so I can't compare, but it ended too abruptly and really lost its post-apocalyptic feel in the last five minutes or so. Sort of a Disney ending, which didn't fit in with what was a gloomy story up until that point.

Regardless, if someone asked me what I thought of this film, I'd tell them to go see it.

It's that good. July 20, 2008

Fantastic, edge-of-the-seat, sci-fi thriller

At the end of the movie you fail to realise it was just one man, Will Smith in most of the scences and yet the movie is neither boring, or lacking in elements that make for a great thriller. One stunning aspect of the movie is the great art direction. New York is bathed in vegetation and ruins that it is impossible to say it was a set. The scale of this set, whether it was computer aided or not, was breathtaking. Will Smith's role, the story, screenplay and action were superb indeed. The way a lonely scientist lives to preserve his sanity, by play-acting - talking to the mannequins in the store as though they were real people, renting and returning DVD's besides other activities such as talking to his dog, saying the lines of the film, singing songs, cooking and not forgetting excersising are all very well done. The concept of defending himself from the zombies at night was also very cleverly and painstakingly done.

Two very thrilling points in the movie are 1. Smith's first confrontation with the zombies (for those who haven't seen the trailers it is a terrific relevation at that point) and 2. The sighting of the mannequin on the road and the scenes that follow when the zombies trick him and later attack him.

One question that lingered in my mind was why didn't Will Smith not test animals that survived the epidemic and find out a cure from their blood instead of testing himself and the zombies. The animals seemed to have survived the calamity perfectly.

Bob Marley's songs were another sweet plus to a movie as this. Redemption Song played at the end of the movie was the icing on the cake.

An alternative ending is being circulated on the net but this one in the original is certainly better. Full marks and highly recommended. July 19, 2008

Legendary

I recently purchased a new computer with a blu-ray disc drive and have a 22" screen. Though it is small you can really tell the difference from standard definition TV and movies. Blu-ray really is the way to go when it comes to the high def experience. It is only if have an HDTV... without one get the standard TV. As for the movie, well it was very enjoyable. They do play down the vampirism that the book describes but for the long run the movie is very entertaining. Will smith portrays the protector of humanity in this epic film about humanity's demise at its own hands. We believe to much in our superiority over nature and believe that we can alter DNA, splice genes and make other genetic modifications and then release these new things into the world without the slightest clue as to what will happen once they start to interact with the natural environment. Will Smith is our last hope... is humanity finished? July 18, 2008

Check the Alt Endings

I didn't get to see the movie in the theater mostly b/c I heard mixed reviews.
So I bought the movie b/c of curiousity which turned out to be a good buy. Blu-ray disk comes with two versions: theater and Alternate version both are good movies but take the movie thru two completely different paths which made the purchase worthwhile. I prefered the Alt ending but my wife liked the Theater vers.
If you like Will Smith movies and a mild thrillers buy it. July 17, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...