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 Disappointed.
That is how I Am Legend left me feeling. Kind of like opening the
greatest Christmas present ever and finding that the batteries didn't
come with it and every single store is closed.
I Am Legend starts
strong, with sweeping shots of a New York city gone to seed, slowly
being reclaimed by nature. We learn what Neville does everyday with
little spots of Will Smith's trademark humor. Intermittently told
through flashbacks and dreams is the story of what happened to the world
and Neville's family in particular.
Will Smith does a great job
of carrying the film pretty much on his own, being that he is the only
actor onscreen during most of the film. By taking mannequins and posing
them in a video store, he creates some semblance of the way life used to
be. While this could be construed as crazy, you can plainly see that
this is just a step in keeping his own sanity. He does have the required
crying scene that seems to be in most of his recent films, but it is
understandable in this film and I won't penalize Smith for it this time.
Not much more can be said about the cast except for a neat little cameo
by Emma Thompson as the Dr. who found the “cure”. Also, fans of the
Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka may recognize Sally Blake. She plays
Smith's wife in the flashbacks and is Allison Blake on Eureka.
Before I get to why the movie
was disappointing, I want to say that the first three quarters were
really good. It takes a combination of talents to keep a movie with
mostly only one cast member interesting. Director Francis Lawrence
coupled with Will Smith does this quite well. The effects are top notch.
New York looks extremely creepy, reminiscent of the establishing shots
of London in 28 Weeks Later but with the style of WETA's work on
Peter Jackson's
King Kong. The creatures are creepy without looking too dehumanized.
What doesn't work is the end.
Feeling truncated and incomplete, I Am Legend could have easily
added another twenty minutes to it's running time of an hour and forty
minutes to provide a better sense of closure. I can't say any more
without giving it away, sorry.
Notice that there was no
mention of any of the other versions of this film. There have been two
others, Omega Man starring Charlton Heston and The Last Man On
Earth, starring Vincent Price. All three films were based on the
novel by Richard Matheson, he who has penned What Dreams May Come
and The Incredible Shrinking Man, among others. There was no
mention because I haven't seen any of the others or read the book. Plan
and simple.
All in all, I cared more for
the dog than I did Robert Neville. What does that tell you?
Until Will Smith really
is the last man on earth,
keep reading
Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
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