I Am Legend Review

By Mitchell Dean

Rated: R
Running Time: 100 min
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Written by: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman, John and Joyce Corrington (1971 Screenplay), Richard Matheson (novel)
Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok
Opens: December 14, 2007

Mitch Slaps: 2 (based on how bad a film is, the higher the Mitch Slaps, the worse a film is; based on 1-3 Slaps)

There is nothing legendary here for Will Smith!

I Am Legend has a checkered past. It began development almost 13 years ago at Warner Bros. Pictures. There have been various actors and directors attached to the film, which is a remake of two earlier films, The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man, both of which were adaptations of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel titled, “I Am Legend.”

The closest the film ever came to heading into production was in the late nineties, when Arnold Schwarzenegger signed on to star. Due to budgetary concerns, the project was placed in turn around, only to finally see the light of day in 2006. This time with Will Smith (I Robot) in the lead role and Francis Lawrence (Constantine) as the director.

The film centers on Robert Neville, a scientist and quite possibly Earth’s only survivor of a deadly virus that wipes out the Worlds population. The only thing left alive are humanoid vampire’s that can only come out at night. During the day, the city is his, but at night, he must lock the doors and board up the windows so that the creatures don’t find him.

Through flashbacks, we see New York City in its final days; perhaps it is the last gasp of the world. These flashbacks play out amongst the bustling streets of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge in particular, creating a panic unlike anything ever before seen in the movies. The entire location shoot is thought to have cost upwards of $5 million dollars, making it the most expensive scene ever shot in the city.

Unfortunately, there is not much here that has not been done, over and over and over again. From the vampire like creatures, to the basic plotline of one man trying to save humanity from itself, we have sat in theaters on a number of occasions and seen the same things take place on screen. The action is not very creative and the only plot line that you walk away from the theater caring about is the one between Neville (Will Smith) and his companion. A large German Shepherd by the name of Sam, short for Samantha.

THE GOOD

The Cinematography provided by Andrew Lesnie (King Kong) showing us a deserted New York City is incredible. The Production Design team also does a fantastic job of making us feel like it is a future world, but possibly a not to distant future. They do so especially in an abandoned time square, where movie and theater posters still adorn the walls, one of these being for a Batman/ Superman film thought to be in the developmental stages at Warner Bros.

THE BAD

The rehash of a very old plotline, where the films Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth did a much better job of conveying the emotions of Matheson’s novel. Why has this film been in and out of development for so long? Why has in gone through so many different incarnations? Go see the final product and I think you will understand.

THE UGLY

With the release of I Am Legend, it’s official, I will no longer refer to Hollywood as glitzy or glamorous, due to the fact that over the past eight or nine months, so many of the new releases have been so dark and ominous, that I have started to think of California as a place that only receives sunlight maybe twice a year at most. Perhaps it is just a sign of the times we find ourselves living in, but correct me if I am wrong, aren’t films supposed to provide us with a bit of escapism and not make us even more depressed than we already are?

How many different ways can you re-adapt the same novel? Obviously, no more than twice, I Am Legend should cause producers every where to pause. Maybe coming up with ORIGINAL CREATIVE IDEAS is a good thought to have after all.

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