I Am Legend

Runtime: 100 minutes

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok

Director: Francis Lawrence (Constantine)

Last issue I wrote a review on the novel, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. I wanted to read the original prior to the movie coming so that I could compare the two. Lawrence has given us an updated version of the story, which originally took place in the mid 50’s, and blended in elements from The Omega Man – an earlier film based on the same book.

In my mind Lawrence has taken the best elements of both the book and the previous film to give us something more satisfying than either.

The film opens with a series of television interviews in which the cure for cancer is announced. By turning viruses to mankind’s benefit they have had a 100% effectiveness in treating those affected with cancer. The celebration is short-lived as they discover that virus eventually mutates the host, killing those who are infected 90% of the time. Worst yet, the virus has started affecting those not treated for cancer and is spreading unchecked. (One assumes that it has mutated in some aspect, but if this is explained in the film I missed it.)

Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last man on Earth. Or so he thinks. He wanders the streets of New York by day, searching for food, searching for a cure for the disease so that he can reverse its effects in those already mutated by it, and playing golf on the docks while he waits for anyone to respond to his distress signal.

Smith does an adequate job of showing a man too long absent from human contact. As this is a pivotal aspect of the early portions of this story I think it could have been done better, but the writing and directing are probably more responsible for this short-coming than Smith’s acting.

I had a few problems with the film, such as the state in which we find New York city only three years after the catastrophe. Already much of the city has been reclaimed by nature, giving it a wonderful post-apocalyptic feel to it, but doing nothing to explain why there are huge herds of deer running through Central Park. And if the city streets are in such a state of disrepair, why do we still have buildings covered in canvas where the material is still in good shape? Or abandoned vehicles with fully aired tires and dust free windshields.

However, these criticisms are minor. The action in interesting. Smith is interesting. The story line is interesting. I recommend the movie. And when you finish watching it, run down to your local video store and rent The Omega Man and The Last Man On Earth and see how they compare. - Randy Lindsay