I Am Legend Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)December 24th, 2007
Urban "Legend" Is Only Somewhat Involving
Thankfully, when there is a movie that doesn't
require too much thought, writing reviews is
easy. And, as I keep score, I see that in the
end, "I am Legend" has two ticks in the plus side
but one big tick on the negative side.
Enjoyable is Will Smith who plays Robert Neville,
a soldier-scientist who lives a desperate and
solitary life in NYC. No, this is not a drama
about a man without friends. On this
island-city, he may be the only one left. In
fact, he may be the only one left on the planet
alive after an airborne virus overtakes all of
humanity and devolves them into violent
monstrosities. These creatures look something
like a cross between a vampire and a zombie.
They're fast, strong, and cunning. And, they
bite a lot.
So, it's just another day in the city for him
when the sun comes up. He heads on out with a
rifle to hunt roaming deer down 5th Avenue. He
checks on the cornfield that he has planted near
Times Square. He finds whatever non-perishable
food items he can. He travels into Chelsea where
he picks up a video and strikes up a conversation
with mannequins. He heads down into his
fortified basement to continue his research into
a vaccine to reverse the viral effects. At
night, he bars the windows and doors of his home
(Fort Knox-style) and remains as quiet-as-a-mouse
while eerie shrieking sounds are heard throughout
his neighborhood.
This is Smith's film because (other than a Best
Supporting Dog Nominee for his sidekick German
Shephard) he is all alone. Our ability to
develop empathy for his character rests squarely
on his acting abilities. There are flashback
scenes to three years ago when the viral
infection was starting to reach pandemic levels,
and we see the happy and responsible father
figure that he once was. It's a whole new bitter
world now, and the best scenes do revolve around
his frustrations, his sense of loneliness, and
his ability to keep things light during a dark
time.
Also notable are the special effects. I thought
the visuals of a post-viral NYC in the
not-so-distant future was very well rendered,
looking something like a post-Katrina disaster
times three. And the flashbacks of three years
ago that show the budding confusion and
desperation were powerful and wrenching. The
film's atmosphere always maintains a pervasive
feeling of chill and imminent danger.
What diminished my enjoyment was the fact that on
the one hand, I'm zombied-out from the many other
"creature" films released in 2007 ("28 Days
Later", "Grindhouse", "Resident Evil"). There
are a few tense scenes here when our hero-soldier
encounters the monsters head-on. And while it
reliably gave us tense moments, it didn't seem
much different from those other films. The
monsters run fast, they bite, they look menacing.
Next!
Also, the better sci-fi films do one of two
things. They either have an interesting
perspective on our humanity or they just get to
use futuristic things in a fun way. And "I Am
Legend" doesn't really accomplish any of these
two. The premise gave the project an opportunity
to show off its stylized visual effects and it
gave Will Smith a chance to cement his
bankability. But it doesn't flesh out a
compelling story or even one that has a
resolution. Overall, the feel was tense, sad,
and sobering. 'Tis the season for a merrier
film.
Grade: B-
S: 0 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page.
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
