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I
Am Legend
(2007)
 
The third film adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic 1954 novel
offers a winning performance by its star and some stunning visuals,
which are just enough to offset its flaws.
The film opens with an announcement that a cure for cancer has been
found. Cut to three years later, where New York City is an abandoned
wasteland. We learn that the cure for cancer was a virus that instead
killed 90% of the world's population and transformed most survivors
into flesh-eating zombies. The only apparent surviving human is
Robert Neville (Will Smith), a military scientist who spends his time
searching for any other humans and trying to find a cure, all while
hiding from the sunlight-averse zombies.
Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine) began his career in music
videos and is known as a visual stylist, so the film really plays to
his strengths in scenes of a post-apocalyptic New York City that's
abandoned, overgrown with weeds, and filled with wild animals. He
provides a vivid glimpse of a city bereft of civilization. He also
generates some suspense when needed and there are some decent action
scenes, but the film is mostly an atmospheric study of a man in
isolation. The problems with the film don't stem from his direction.
Matheson's novel was previously realized on film as The Last Man on
Earth with Vincent Price in 1964 and The Omega Man with Charlton
Heston in 1971. The former was the most faithful to the novel, while
this film is based on both the novel and the latter film (with its
screenwriters John William Corrington and Joyce H. Corrington
receiving credit). For the first two acts, the screenplay by Mark
Protosevich (The Cell, Poseidon) and Akiva Goldsman (Batman &
Robin, The Da Vinci Code) provides an interesting profile of a man
who's been alone and suffering from emotional trauma for three years,
with his only companion a dog.
However, it often seems more like a series of set pieces strung
together rather than a complete film, which reflects that it went into
production without a finished script and with re-writes by Goldsman
continuing throughout shooting. It starts to sag a bit in the second
act until it falls apart in an overly compressed third act that
culminates in an unsatisfying ending. There are also some lapses in
story logic that are never properly explained.
Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong)
and production designer Naomi Shohan (American Beauty,
Constantine) create a very believable setting for the story, as
disturbing as it is sometimes beautiful in a state of ruin, and a
combination of location shooting and CGI are fit together seamlessly.
Where the CGI isn't as successful is in the creation of the zombies,
who just aren't as believable as the low-key vampire-like monsters of
the novel. The brooding score by James Newton Howard (Batman
Begins, King Kong) is a plus mark for the film.
Smith's combination of movie star charisma and acting ability is the
key to I Am Legend's success. So many scenes are essentially
monologues that it could quickly become tedious if the actor
delivering them wasn't able to hold your attention. He does, and in
doing so makes us believe in who he is and what he has to do to
survive. At times you wonder if the isolation has finally driven his
character over the edge, and Smith achieves this effect with subtlety.
The rest of the cast is solid, including Emma Thompson as the
scientist who creates the virus, Salli Richardson as Neville's wife,
Willow Smith (Will's actual daughter) as Neville's daughter, and Alice
Braga (niece of noted actress Sônia Braga) as a survivor who escapes
from Brazil on a Red Cross ship.
I Am Legend is above average for entertainment value, and that's
entirely due to the presence of Will Smith and the visual
sensibilities of Francis Lawrence, who keep the film afloat despite a
leaky script.
-Danielle
Ní Dhighe
Other
Thoughts: Scott Kline ;
Mark Moreland
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All contents ©
2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Francis
Lawrence
Writer: Mark
Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman, Richard
Matheson
Starring: Will
Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Distributor: Warner
Bros. Pictures
Runtime: 101
min
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: December
14, 2007
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