Review: I Am Legend
Geez. First let me apologize for the lack of December reviews.
Our bad. Best not to dwell. Onto the reviews.
“I am Legend” is not the movie you were promised. Veiled attempts at depth, CGI monsters that couldn’t fool a child, Wal-Mart scare tactics, and superfluous extra characters make this adaptation fall short of anything more than satisfactory. Except for Will Smith. Damn. He’s still got it.
Where to begin? New York, immense and empty. I was reminded of a 28 Days Later London, except for the overwhelming green-screen and smooth CG nature of the city. It lacked that matte nature of reality, so the “epic” shots I was so excited about from the trailers were empty and felt terribly un-exciting. The opening sequence featured these streets as Robert Neville, Smith, hunts deer with what seems like desperate need.
Immediately from the beginning, the dog, Sam, was an awesome addition to the story. As Will’s Wilson, the dog was a great foil, and performed better than an obnoxious child-actor could have.
Nearly immediately though, I was taken out of survival mode when Neville returns home. MILD SPOILERS follow for those who care. He has lots of food. Smith’s character needs for next to nothing. Canned food, vegetables, pastas, grains, everything. He has it in his pantry. Granted, he’s had some time to stock up, but the sense of urgency is immediately sucked out of the film.
Robert Neville has dinner and then bunks down for the night….in his fortress! I’ve not seen the likes of those steel plates for some time.
All and all Neville needs nothing. He has security and plenty of food. Enter blood-hungry “Dark Seekers”.
Remember the Mummy? Remember that thing he did with his mouth? You’ve seen the next thirty minutes of the movie. Upsetting. “What’s that? I can’t see when there’s nothing but darkness on the screen.” BAM. “Wow, that loud noise scared me. Do you think he could put my head in his mouth?”
Insert boring plot, annoyingly forced secondary characters, and then some “theology” about butterflies and you’ve got the movie.
The best part of this flick, Will Smith. He can still look at a script and deliver his end of the bargain. The devolution of his social skills is awesome, and there’s a scene with his friend “Frank” that’s absolutely disturbing. The only bad part is that there’s no fall out and about an hour of film left that’s particularly uninspired. Will’s performance falls just short of carrying the entire film, but just can’t seem to seal the deal. It’s unfortunate, I was rooting for ya Will.
I might gripe, but as far as adventure flicks, this one isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. It was a decent waste of time, but I only recommend seeing it once in theaters…if at all.
Verdict: 6/10
