Movie Review: I Am Legend

Categorized | Ashleigh Holmes, movies

Movie Review: I Am Legend

Posted on 23 January 2008 by Ashleigh Holmes

There are some actors who have a commanding presence. Well, ok, most actors, by definition, have a commanding presence otherwise they wouldn't be successful, but there are some actors who demand (and get) a little more attention than others. You know the ones. You see the trailer, and whether you think the movie concept is that great or not, the mere fact that "so and so" is in it makes you want to see it.

Will Smith is one of those actors for me, so the only thing I knew about I Am Legend when I went to see it last weekend was that it starred Will Smith as the last man on the planet. And let's face it; there aren't a lot of guys out there who can pull off a role like that. Tom Hanks did it in Cast Away, but that's really all that comes to mind.
I'm a pro at suspending my disbelief, so I had no problem buying the storyline. Dr. Krippen, played by Emma Thompson, has discovered a cure for cancer. By reengineering a common virus (the measles) she has effectively cured over 10,000 patients. Insert uproarious shouts of triumph from all human beings who have ever been affected in even a small way by the horrifying "plague" of cancer.

Fast forward to three years later: Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) and his trusty German Shephard, Sam, speed through the deserted New York streets in a red Shelby Cobra with white racing stripes. After an unsuccessful hunt, they return to a fully provisioned Washington Square brownstone. As the story progresses, we find that something went terribly awry with Dr. Krippen's vaccine. The apparent miracle turned into a curse when every patient treated with the vaccine devolved into a rabid, flesh-eating night prowler. Some couldn't sustain the rabid existence and perished, and still others, in a true "survival of the fittest" scenario, fed upon the remaining healthy and sane humans.

Dr. Neville, a physician in the Armed Forces, is, or so we're led to believe, the only remaining healthy and (questionably) sane human. He is determined to reverse the effects of the vaccine and bring the monsters back from their exile in hell. Although he holds out hope that there are other survivors, he reluctantly begins to believe that maybe he is the last of the humans. As with any action-packed blockbuster, there are plenty of twists and turns and more than a few nail-biting moments, but I just couldn't help noticing that even though the paved streets of Manhattan are sufficiently deteriorating after three years without maintenance, all the store fronts and awnings are close to immaculate. However, Neville's reaction to Sam's disappearance into a dark and deserted warehouse quickly blinded my discerning eye to any inconsistencies.

All in all, Smith delivered a solid performance. Not quite up to Pursuit of Happyness standards, but good nonetheless. The effects and the storyline are believable, sometimes too much so. Much as I did in Children of Men, I found myself shuddering occasionally, thinking, "This could totally happen if we're not careful." The most unexpected outcome of the film: my newfound respect for Bob Marley. I'm not a big fan of reggae, which makes it hard to be a Bob Marley fan, but Neville's exultation of Marley as a proponent of music and love to combat violence and racism has led me to reevaluate my musical opinions. If you can't manage to catch this one at the theaters, then I definitely recommend it for a DVD and pizza night.

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13 Comments For This Post

Bobby Ozuna Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:08 am
Ashleigh, I totally agree! Being a movie fanatic I pride myself on only “wasting my time” on quality film but I have tendencies to watch something out of my genre when the star is the type of actor who can pull off an amazing role and make me truly believe their performance. This is true for “I Am Legend.”

Under normal circumstances I would never watch this movie, particularly because it is essentially a “vampire” movie–not my cup of tea. But the manner in which this movie was promoted–last man on Earth, something goes awry with a vaccine that is meant to heal but ends up hurting mankind–sucked me in. Like you, I said to myself, “this could totally happen.”

I did enjoy the movie, it was one that I would recommend as the storyline is good and Will Smith pulls off a truly believable performance and the idea that he is so involved with his dog SAM proves (or at least gives the impression) that the hero of the story has spent many months away from others. I enjoyed it…I would recommend it…I was on the edge of my seat at the endâ€¦but in the end, I would only watch it once.
Daniel Dessinger Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:49 am
I’ve been wanting to see this film ever since its premiere. Having a new baby girl has prevented me from going to the theater (except once), so I’ll have a whole slew of good movies to rent this time next year.

With Cloverfield, I was drawn to a film without understanding the full premise of the story, only to have someone explain it in greater detail and steal my thunder. At least this time your movie summary makes me want to see the film even more.

Keep it up!
Nix Johnson Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
Great Review Ashleigh! Unfortunately for me, Will Smith has the exact opposite effect on me. It usually takes a lot of coercing to make me even watch the DVD, but I happen to be hungry for pizza today. So I’ll be sure to add it to my NETFLIX queue
Ashleigh Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
This is going to sound odd, coming from someone who does movie reviews, but I hate movie reviews. The less I know about the movie the better. I love being surprised by little things that I would have never expected, but if I’d read a review or seen too many trailers, chances are those little surprises would have been spoiled for me. I don’t watch the commercials for what’s up next week on my favorite TV shows either, so I’m really glad to hear that I didn’t ruin I Am Legend for you, Daniel. The one exception to my “less is more” mantra - the trailer for Across the Universe. If the movie had been as intense as the trailer, I think my brain would have exploded.
Meri Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
This movie really scared me! I hid in my sweater…
cher Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I was lucky to see this one, funny thing is my friend wanted to see it and i had no desire to go. I thought it was a “guy movie” and i wouldn’t like it. I’m so glad he took me to see it because it was so much better than i thought it was going to be. Great acting, makes you wonder if he will ever make a bad movie?
Lisa Wippert Says:
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Outstanding. I feel the movie sounds like one to actually pay to view. I have two small children and well, the last movie I saw was “300″. And before that…I don’t even remember when I went to the movies. I almost wish I could get a babysitter to see that movie. Alas, I will be doing the Blockbuster thing for that and enjoying it from my own couch.
Ashleigh Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Oh sweety (Meri), I’m laughing, but it’s only because I know and love you!
Ashleigh Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 9:50 am
To Lisa:

Super glad you got to see ‘300′ in theaters. As one of my girlfriends said, “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually tired of looking at abs.” Now that’s a great movie
Ashleigh Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
To Bobby:

I agree…I’ll never make an effort to see it again, but if it were on HBO sometime, and I didn’t have anything else to watch, I might leave it on in the background for “noise” and get some housecleaning done.
nathan Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
4:24:10 PM purposeweb: ashleigh spells her name in a way that makes me think of snow
4:26:07 PM Daniel Dessinger: snow?
4:26:12 PM Daniel Dessinger: wtf
4:26:22 PM Daniel Dessinger: like sleighing through the snow?
4:26:25 PM purposeweb: it’s like sleigh
4:26:28 PM purposeweb: exactly
4:27:03 PM purposeweb: more specifically the witch in the lion the witch and the etc
4:29:43 PM Daniel Dessinger: hmm
4:29:46 PM Daniel Dessinger: interesting
4:30:49 PM purposeweb: thank you
4:31:29 PM Daniel Dessinger: are you going to develop a crush on her because she wrote a good review?
4:31:49 PM purposeweb: no - I was disappointed in that movie
4:31:53 PM Daniel Dessinger: oh
4:31:56 PM Daniel Dessinger: i haven’t seen it
4:32:02 PM Daniel Dessinger: pooh on your disappointment!
4:32:12 PM purposeweb: yeah - I’d say solidly average
4:32:25 PM Daniel Dessinger: you’ve called some hot girls that
4:32:35 PM Daniel Dessinger: so your scale is jacked
4:32:53 PM Daniel Dessinger: we need a 3rd party objective scale
4:33:31 PM purposeweb: not as good as say - enemy of the state
4:33:36 PM Daniel Dessinger: hmm
4:33:39 PM Daniel Dessinger: that was fun once
4:33:42 PM Daniel Dessinger: but not a second time
4:33:56 PM purposeweb: well this one wasn’t fun the first time
4:33:58 PM Daniel Dessinger: i need a little more development
4:34:02 PM Daniel Dessinger: hmm
4:34:14 PM Daniel Dessinger: what? you got something against flesh eaters?
4:34:21 PM Daniel Dessinger: racist
4:35:01 PM purposeweb: no - there was just nothing special plot wise in this movie
4:35:20 PM purposeweb: sure you might feel for him that he had to ________
4:35:46 PM purposeweb: did you like I robot?
4:35:48 PM Daniel Dessinger: yes
4:35:50 PM Daniel Dessinger: very much
4:35:58 PM Daniel Dessinger: i liked it more than enemy of the state
4:36:07 PM Daniel Dessinger: but i suppose you are a gene hackman love-child
4:36:14 PM Daniel Dessinger: so i can understand why you wouldn’t
4:36:27 PM purposeweb: do you want to see that movie again replacing robots with people with rabies - and have them do less interesting things throughout the movie?
4:36:36 PM Daniel Dessinger: wow
4:36:41 PM Daniel Dessinger: tell me how you really feel
4:36:51 PM Daniel Dessinger: sounds like somebody needs to post a comment
4:36:52 PM purposeweb: if you answer yes - then you’ll love the movie
4:37:02 PM Daniel Dessinger: comment! comment! comment!
4:37:26 PM purposeweb: ok but it may be rehash - and to do that I might actually have to read the post
4:37:39 PM Daniel Dessinger: copy and paste your IM statements
Daniel Dessinger Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
FYI, Nathan, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said to copy and paste YOUR IM statements.

Sheesh.
Ashleigh Says:
January 24th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Hahaha! That’s hilarious!! Thanks Nathan and Daniel