i_am_legend

I Am Legend

U.S. Release Date: 12/14/07
Running Time: 1:45
Rated: PG-13 (Violence, disturbing situations)

Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith

Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, based on the 1971 screenplay by John William Corrington & Joyce Corrington, based on the novel by Richard Matheson

Music: James Newton Howard
Studio: Warner Brothers

Since the ‘70’s, Warner Bros. Pictures has put Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend through the ringer. After its initial adaptation in 1971 (titled The Omega Man staring Charlton Heston), the rights to I Am Legend sat on the studio’s shelf until the 1990’s. At this point, an adaptation (this time titled I Am Legend) was slated to star Arnold Schwarzenegger with Ridley Scott in the director’s chair. Needless to say, this project fell through.

Since 2002, Will Smith has been attached to I Am Legend as the lead role. So, why did it then take five years for the feature to make it to “post-production” status? Well, it was a case of juggling directors. From Michael Bay, to Will Smith’s request of Guillermo Del Toro, the studio finally arrived on music-video director and director of Constantine Francis Lawrence.

In retracing Warner Bros.’ footsteps associated with bringing I Am Legend to light, the studio has finally succeeded and proved that no step was a misstep. I Am Legend contains action, Will Smith, impressive images of a barren Times Square, and mutated CGI humans. What more could you ask for?

The year is 2012 and New York City’s population is one. That one is military scientist, Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith). When the sun is visible, Robert hunts with his dog Sam and waits on the pier in hope for other human survivors. When the sun sets, Robert hides in his boarded home from the creatures that own the night. Exactly what these creatures are and how this current state came to be is gradually revealed through a series of flashbacks.

Amid these flashbacks, we are informed that a so-called “cure” for cancer was administered to a control group of humans. The “cure” then mutated and resulted in a new breed of human—aggressive, sensitive to light, and thirsty for blood. This group of mutated humans then doubled as a plague and killed the human race by the masses.

Not since Cast Away has a motion-picture delved into the mind of a main character so confined to solitude. Although equipped with food, shelter, and weapons, Legend’s only complaint is in the lack of human life and socialization. As I Am Legend’s main character transforms mentally, he finds companionship in both a German Sheppard (instead of a volleyball) and a series of mannequins that he names creatively. Determined to stay on the NY Island, Legend strives to “fix” the problem instead of escape. Even with these vast differences in survival, I Am Legend is just as intriguing of a character study as Cast Away.

In channeling Tom Hanks and taking advice from Tom Cruise, Will Smith proves once more why he is one of Hollywood’s leading actors. What makes Smith an extraordinary talent is his sterling ability to show external as well as internal emotion. What’s more, Smith takes on the form of the quintessential specimen of a human male. When Smith performs pull-ups in his New York home, his muscles flex, and viewers are amazed.

Besides featuring Will Smith, I Am Legend possesses several similarities to I, Robot. First off, the first letter in the title is obviously the same. Nonetheless, apart from filing both films in the “I” section of the collection, I Am Legend features CGI villains who creep up buildings like spiders and learn to exhibit human thinking patterns.

On the other hand, these villains are more like half-zombies half-vampires than robots. Simply put, they provide forcefully creepy scenes. Two scenes in particular stand out: one where Smith enters a dark building in search of his dog, and another where Smith is caught in a trap and must flee before the sunset. Conversely, the film’s best two scenes are villain free. These are centered on the opening hunt via Ford Mustang and the dog.

If I Am Legend can be criticized for any major flaw, it is for its inclusion of religion. The story becomes a battle over the disbelief of a merciless Lord and the belief of a speaking God. This matter is not expanded upon, but it is the reason for justifying the film’s given ending. Should one suppose that because the Earth is now quiet, humans can hear the voice of God?

With the religion pushed out-of-the-way, I Am Legend’s most intriguing concept is again found in its lead’s loneliness. Of course, complete isolation from everything equals open access to anything. If you’d like to drive golf balls off an air-force jet, go through strangers’ cabinets, drive on sidewalks, and “rent” any movie, you can! Obviously, in a world like this, money also becomes irrelevant. Mid-film, a scene shows stacks of cash all over a room’s floor and the main character doesn’t even give the green a second glance.

With this thinking in mind, don’t look twice at your wallet before shelling out cash to view I Am Legend. It is an impressionable post-apocalyptic tale that’s eerie and genuinely affecting. While it’s not exactly a legendary film, I Am Legend is worthwhile entertainment.