I Am Legend (2007)

Will Smith is a world class scientist and army official in I Am Legend. No, seriously. It's present day and the cure for cancer has just been released. It appears to be all smiles and sunshine for everybody in the world as the body's number one enemy has been eradicated. But those who handle and distribute the new vaccine are about to make a big mistake. Fast forward to three years later, and there is only one man left on earth. That man is Robert Neville (Will Smith), who somehow is still alive after the "KV Virus" spreads the globe killing everyone...or did it? Neville goes about his days hunting for deer, exercising, talking to mannequins, and searching for more survivors, all with the accompaniment of his dog Sam. But Neville keeps it in his best interest to lock himself indoors as the sun begins to set. For night is the time of the "dark seekers", creatures that used to be human, but were infected by the virus. When the sun goes down it is there time to feed, so it's best to keep your distance. When Neville is not talking to mannequins or cruising around in his probably stolen Shelby GT500, he is in his laboratory working continuously searching for a cure, so that he can save those who have been infected. It is up to him to try and restore civilization to its former self.

Will Smith is pretty much forced to take the reins in I Am Legend, considering he is supposed to be the last person alive. Although Smith is a good actor, he is not a great actor. When you are going to make a film where your main character is essentially the only character, you MUST have a great actor to fill the time. Tom Hanks did it in Cast Away, and John Cusack was able to do it in 1408 (<--review coming eventually), but Smith was not able to accomplish it here. His performance was not all bad, as there were parts where I felt truly emotional as Smith started to lose composure after a tragic event. (I'm trying not to give too much away, but you could probably figure out what happens). Unfortunately, the emotional performance only takes up 10 minutes of the film, and the rest of the act is quite boring and plain to say the least.

One very positive thing to say about this film is the overall look of this post apocalyptic New York City. Through the opening of the movie, we are brought around the city where grasslands have overtook the streets and animals walk where humans used to reign. These effects are rendered very well, especially considering the director Francis Lawrence has only directed one film before, and his expertise lies mainly in music videos. But the visuals are not perfect, which is clearly evident in the effects used to generate the dark seekers. The infected people look flat out silly, and aren't very scary. It is also very clear that the makers used complete CGI to portray them. It really took me out of the film.

All in all, I Am Legend had A LOT of potential in being a great film, but failed in more than one aspect. Try again in another 25 years or so with a better actor, and it'll work. My rating (5/10)