I Am Legend (2007)

[MmzHrrdb]

I am frequently disappointed by action films. They tend to be little more than excuses for elaborate fight and chase scenes with lots by the way of explosions and A-List actors and little by the way of plot or brains. I applaud I Am Legend for not being that kind of action film. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Fights and combat scenes are surprisingly scarce, but does that make I Am Legend dull? Far from it. I Am Legend's creepy and sometimes frightening atmosphere alone will keep you on your toes for a majority of the film's run time.

Robert Neville is the last person left on earth. Everyone else has been completely wiped out by an awful virus. Oh, there are people that weren't killed by the virus, such as Neville, but they've all turned into zombies, and their only remaining goal is to finish all human beings left on the earth. And the zombies are almost finished too. With only his dog, Sam for company, Neville has to take on the entire population of zombies, while also trying to find a cure to reverse the virus.

One of I Am Legend's biggest downsides is that almost nothing happens in the first 70 minutes that progresses the story. We are given plot details through flashbacks, and we see Neville hunt deer. There are a couple of interesting scenes, but almost nothing happens that helps the story advance forward in any way. Despite this, I Am Legend is still very entertaining. Part of this comes from Will Smith's effective performance. A lot of this, however, comes from the atmosphere which is creepy and frightening throughout. There's no one left on the entire planet, so the quietness is a little unnerving, and because we know that there are zombies lurking, I Am Legend keeps you tense and on the edge of your seat for a vast duration of the film. It's certainly difficult to make 70 minutes of nothing feel fast-paced and suspenseful, but I Am Legend does it.

Despite a mostly uneventful first 70 minutes, there is one particularly thrilling scene in which Neville's dog runs into a building that serves as the zombie's primary hiding, and Neville goes after him. The building is dark, and because the zombies have not been seen yet at this point in the film, it is extremely creepy and exciting.

After the first 70 minutes, I Am Legend finally gets some plot development going. One or two somewhat major occurrences happen here, but I won't spoil anything here.

Where this film truly gets it's recommendation is in the last 20 minutes. At this point, I Am Legend is firing at all cylinders, giving everything it's got. With a majorly thrilling ending involving the entire population of zombies, I Am Legend makes up for it's uneventful beginning.

The special effects throughout are serviceable, but hardly jaw-dropping. It's usually obvious when we're looking at a CG creation, or the real deal.

Will Smith (as Robert Neville) is one of the reasons why I Am Legend works. As one of the only characters in the film that isn't a zombie, Will Smith has to carry the film on his shoulders, and he does so admirably. We can tell he's going a little nuts, as he frequently talks to his dog and the various store mannequins, and Will Smith's performance makes us believe that. This is a role that could have easily been quite laughable, instead, it's one of the primary strengths of the film.

The score is composed by James Newton Howard. At least, that score there is. A majority of the film has no music, and when there is music, it's usually quiet and forgettable. Howard fails to do anything interesting with I Am Legend. To be honest though, I Am Legend could've still used more music, even the sub-par kind, because some of the "boo!" moments lacked the umph it needed, and some unexpected trumpet blares could've fixed that.

I Am Legend doesn't answer all the big questions. There's so much left unexplained, that it's sure to irritate some. Still, I Am Legend provides a thoroughly creepy experience that's worth the price of admission for the atmosphere alone. Will Smith's performance, and some truly exciting zombie take-down scenes are just the icing on the cake.

Score: 7/10

[nauru]

Interesting review. I generally think of I Am Legend as a knock-off of 28 Days Later, which I think you would really appreciate.

[ShogunRua]

Interesting review. I generally think of I Am Legend as a knock-off of 28 Days Later, which I think you would really appreciate.

I just prefer to think of it as 30 minutes of a decent movie followed by an hour of total shit and shameless product placement. As well as further confirmation that any film with Will Smith, no matter how good or bad, will make a fortune at the box office.

Here is the slightly more concise review than the one above, which I wrote;

"Interesting premise ruined by predictable deus ex machina plot, terrible, slow editing, and too many instances of Will Smith being Will Smith. The contrived playing of Shrek 2, sudden and far too quick descent of Smith's character into madness, and artificial explanation of Bob Marley didn't help matters. Also, after being knifed in the thigh and getting to his car after dark, how did the zombies not figure out Smith's home then?"

[CMonster]

This film really bothered me because there is an actual meaning to the title I Am Legend, but they decided to really just give it a stupid ass ending which is where we should be learning the meaning behind the title. It's not some super deep intellectual thing, but it's better than nothing and interesting(much more so than what we got). You can actually watch the alternate(original) ending which wasn't particularly a gem, but again, at least it isn't a slap in the face to any meaning the book's author put into it. Also this movie has one of the biggest plot holes of all time. We literally get to watch on screen as all the bridges connecting Manhattan Island to any other land blow up, yet some bimbo and her kid manage to get back and forth. My friends and I decided that it probably means the zombies were running a ferry service between Manhattan and the rest of New York.

[ShogunRua]

Also this movie has one of the biggest plot holes of all time. We literally get to watch on screen as all the bridges connecting Manhattan Island to any other land blow up, yet some bimbo and her kid manage to get back and forth. My friends and I decided that it probably means the zombies were running a ferry service between Manhattan and the rest of New York.

Good catch, but there were millions of plot holes and general stupidity throughout the film. For instance, the whole sequence with Will Smith being snared by that trap and it turning dark was such contrived, laughable slapstick that it belonged in a Three Stooges short.

[ayall]

I had recently re-watched this, has anyone seen the alternative ending?

I prefer the original ending, but the alternative ending makes much more sense with the story set-up.



[spoiler]it's funny, cause i saw this movie in theaters and my friend and i were joking, "they're trying to save you bro" during the exact scene it flops to alternative ending.[/spoiler]

[MmzHrrdb]

Interesting review. I generally think of I Am Legend as a knock-off of 28 Days Later, which I think you would really appreciate.

I just prefer to think of it as 30 minutes of a decent movie followed by an hour of total shit and shameless product placement. As well as further confirmation that any film with Will Smith, no matter how good or bad, will make a fortune at the box office.

Here is the slightly more concise review than the one above, which I wrote;

"Interesting premise ruined by predictable deus ex machina plot, terrible, slow editing, and too many instances of Will Smith being Will Smith. The contrived playing of Shrek 2, sudden and far too quick descent of Smith's character into madness, and artificial explanation of Bob Marley didn't help matters. Also, after being knifed in the thigh and getting to his car after dark, how did the zombies not figure out Smith's home then?"

For the record, Eddie Murphy plays Donkey, not Will Smith. I do agree though, some plot holes in the film are noticeable, but it's just dumb fun with a little depth, which is a heck of a lot more than most action films provide.

[ShogunRua]

For the record, Eddie Murphy plays Donkey, not Will Smith.

?

I do agree though, some plot holes in the film are noticeable, but it's just dumb fun with a little depth, which is a heck of a lot more than most action films provide.

I must have missed the "dumb fun" part; there was a lot of plodding, waiting around, and flashbacks, but extraordinarily little action. In terms of CGI, the zombies look like complete shit, (the computer graphics look like they were from the mid 90s instead of 2007) and the few moments where Will Smith actually fights them are generic and dull.

So in that sense, it can't even provide the bare minimum of what modern, brain-dead CGI films do; watchable action.

[MmzHrrdb]

At any rate, I enjoyed it. I personally, don't care if the CGI is awful if the film is entertaining enough. And I was entertained.