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Amazon.co.uk Review
Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbours who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time, and after enduring a personal tragedy, Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd, his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease. The film’s first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into pathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. --Tom Keogh
DVD Description
I Am Legend stars Will Smith (Men in Black)as Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist. When a man-made virus can't be contained, Neville finds himself the last human survivor in New York City and potentially the world. For three years he faithfully sends out daily radio messages, desperate to find other survivors. But he is not alone... Mutant victims of the plague (The Infected) lurk in the shadows, waiting to catch Neville out. As perhaps Earth's last hope for mankind, Neville is driven only by the desire to somehow reverse the effects of the virus before it's too late...
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Still from I Am Legend
 Will Smith |  Will Smith |
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Try the alternative ending, then read the book,
By
This review is from: I Am Legend [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
Just to add a little note to go with other comments - I thought the film was good in its own right, but changed too many things from the book for my own liking... The ending and subsequent twisting of the 'legend' meaning from the one in the book was a bit trite, I thought. I have since found the alternative ending, which I much prefer. It is available on the web (search for it) and also on the 2-disk edition (apparently).
I would recommend getting the 2-disk edition just for the alternative ending, which adds a layer or two to the story that the original theatrical ending didn't even hint at. I would recommend the book strongly if you want a much more than usually thoughtful take on the vampire/zombie take-over idea. BBC radio also broadcast a full reading of the book a while back, so look out for that being re-broadcast - it was very good.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A blu-ray best!,
By Movie Mad (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I Am Legend [Blu-ray] [2007][Region Free] (Blu-ray)
I was quite reluctant about watching this film seeing as most reviews complained about how awful it was. But I thought I'd give it a try and "I am Legend" turned out to be a surprisingly good movie with a brilliantly controlled performance from Will Smith.
The film starts with a whole host of production companies as Emma Thompson does a prologue in the form of a TV interview. From then on (until half-way through) the movie is simply Smith and his dog wondering the streets of New York trying to survive - with the occasional flashback, of course. In the latter, less good, section all hell brakes loose as the 'infected' go hunting. The normal ending lacks fluidity but the alternative version is far better, displaying much more emotion and simplicity. So, my advice would be to buy this blu-ray - which is truly marvellous with shining NY shots - purely for the alternative ending and don't bother with the other version. You'll be much more satisfied that way.
89 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One man and his dog,
This review is from: I Am Legend [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
Pro's
The opening half of the movie...in which New York is vividly recast as post-apocalyptic dystopia. Smith's portrayal of a man slowly going insane. Considering this is a big-budget Hollywood movie, this is subtle and quietly moving. Flashbacks to pre-apocalypse confusion are interspersed with care and inform Smith's character and the plot. The idea that it is Smith who is now the monster. After all, from the perspective of the other residents of the new New York it is Smith who is the outsider. He lurks in his basement like a Frankenstein conducting lethal experiments on innocent subjects he captures. The sense of dread. This is built slowly and cumulatively. The scene where the dog runs into a dark, seemingly empty building is exquisitely tense. Sam the Dog. Seems strange to praise a dog for its acting, but for most of the film it's just Smith and Sam and they make a fine double act. Con's The second half of the movie. Once the monsters are revealed in all their CGI glory the movie turns into a loud, shouty action flick. The psychological and moral arguments are shunted out of the way and we are left with a series of ever-louder explosions. I'd consider this an interesting but flawed movie. The first half is great - filled with loads of striking imagery and interesting thoughts about isolation, survival, personal morality, the boundaries of sanity and human arrogance. The second half is more interested in bombs, guns, and monsters. Worth watching for the performances of Smith and Sam.
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