Review of I Am Legend

I Am Legend

We’ve found a cure for cancer, or so says an uncredited Emma Thompson in the opening scene of I Am Legend. Too bad it didn’t work out.

This, the third iteration of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, uses all the bells and whistles of modern Hollywood, and does it nicely. If you were born Circa 1950, you may remember the 1964 version, The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price, or the 1971 effort, The Omega Man staring Charlton Heston. But if you weren’t, catch this film and see all three.

The premise of this movie (and the others) is the world population is wiped out, or mutated into bloodthirsty critters, by a disease or a virus or a biological weapon, leaving a solitary human. Fortunately, he is, has, or develops the cure. The trick is to get by all the mean, mutated people who are trying to eat him so he can save all mankind. But considering the state of the world today, he should probably be eaten just for that.

The movie opens in the year 2009 with Emma in a TV interview touting the success of the new and improved, genetically modified, measles virus in curing cancer. In the test trials, 10,009 out of 10,009 are now cancer free. Fast-forward to 2012 and we run into Will Smith racing a new Shelby Cobra down the deserted streets of New York City at $6.63/Gal. regular unleaded, and hunting for his dinner with an automatic weapon. Flashbacks and subtle appearances of newspaper and magazine clippings supply the audience with the backstory of how this terrible thing came to be. Smith’s wristwatch alarm goes off at 5:22 p.m., signaling something bad is about to happen—the setting of the sun. Eventually, it gets dark, and the mutants decide they want to eat out.

The movie itself is the riveting, nail biting, edge-of-your-seat stuff that makes a good horror flick good. The suspense is nearly constant, and the shock value of the unexpected heighten the tension to such a level, that I refused to go to the bathroom. The CGI effects are superb as is Smith in his portrayal of a man going slowly insane from loneliness, while driven by guilt to find a cure for a catastrophe he, in part, caused.

This reviewer has decided not to delve into the play-by-play of I Am Legend simply because it is worth the bucks, and didn’t want this review to be a spoiler. True, if you’re over forty, you already know what happens, but so what? Smith will carry this movie on shear talent and star power, and because of that, it’s a fun night out. Go ahead, spend a few bucks on the family and give your kids nightmares. Our parents did.

3.5 out of 4 Stars

Future reviews:

The Dark Knight

Christian Bale returns as Batman in the sequel of Batman Begins, due out in the Summer of 2008. Bale is by far the best of the four actors to play the role (not counting Adam West, of course) and in this offering, The Joker is his “new” nemesis. Loaded up with mega-stars such as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman, I look forward to this latest incarnation of a childhood hero.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/