The movie 'I am Legend' is based upon the book of the same name written by Richard Matheson in 1954.  This is the third movie filmed using this book for inspiration with the first two being 'The Last Man on Earth' (1964) starring Vincent Price and 'The Omega Man' (1971) starring Charlton Heston.  In this latest version the lead character, Robert Neville, is played by Will Smith.

The premise of the movie is the Robert Neville believes that he is the last man on earth because the rest of the population has succumbed to a virus that turns them all into creatures half zombie/half vampire.  They eat people and animals, they are super strong, they can't go out into the sun, but they can be killed by normal means... i.e. no need for a stake in the heart.  Mr. Neville spends his days searching for other survivors, hunting deer, gathering supplies and trying to find a cure for the virus.  Oh, and he does so with his loyal German Shepard by his side while always making sure to get back to the security of his house by nightfall.  Inevitably, he finds other uninfected humans and finds out there is a colony of them.  I won't go into any more plot details because I don't want to spoil it for you.  If you've read the book, you will notice quite a few changes... that's Hollywood for you!

The special effects in this movie aren't great, but they're not bad either.  The infected people look very similar to the creatures in the move 'The Cave.'  The action sequences are exciting and fit the plot, i.e. not added just for something cool.  The cinematography was a bit hard on the eyes at first because they use a lot of non-steady cam work with someone just running around next to Will Smith and the camera bobbing up and down.  Luckily, the whole movie is not like that.

The acting in this movie boils down to one person... Will Smith because there are very few other human parts.  This is not a bad thing.  Will Smith gives one of his best performances to date.  I would even say better than his work in 'The Pursuit of Happyness."  If it wasn't for the subject matter of the film, I could even see him getting an Oscar.  Sadly, you don't see horror/sci-fi movie actors getting golden statues.

Overall I would have to give this movie a high grade.  The premise/plot are interesting and thought provoking, it has some good action sequences and the acting is top notch.  Heck, it made $75+ million it's first weekend.  It's gotta be somewhat worth watching!

Otig out!

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion