Instant Legend

I Am Legend

Daniel Scillieri

Personal Grade: B+


The grade alone should speak for this Will Smith movie. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I Am Legend is the third movie make of the classic book I Am Legend. The earlier being "The Last Man on Earth" and "The Omega Man". Each movie follows the same story line that in the near future a global outbreak destroys more than 90% of Earth's population. In this recent remake, a scientist develops a cure for cancer which in-turn becomes this terrible virus that turns the infected into vampiric monsters they call night-seekers. The movie jumps 3 years into the future and Will Smith, who plays Robert Neville, is the last survivor in New York City. With his awesome dog Sam, he searches the city through the day for supplies and food, but when his watch alarm goes off he returns to his home, which is transformed into a small fortress. Throughout the movie Robert Neville has several flash backs of when the military decided to close off the Island of Manhattan, which shows the mass hysteria that was settling in. Survival is not his only goal in the movie, Robert Neville, who is immune to the virus, is also an expert scientist and is closing in on a cure for this infection. In his high tech lab, he experiments with infected rats and even captures an infected human subject. This movie is packed with action, adventure, and suspense that keeps you locked onto the screen. Here are the Pros and Cons of Will Smith's I Am Legend

Pros:
There are a whole bunch of things I really really liked about this blockbuster hit. The first few minutes of the movie really capture your attention by showing you a deserted New York City. Wild animals and Weeds cover the once busy streets of this major city. The camera work and effects it must of required to make NYC become desolate is jaw dropping. You really feel for Will Smith's character has he tries to maintain a "normal" lifestyle in a world where he has not seen another living person in over 3 years. He talks to mannequins, rents DVDs, even plays recordings of Good Morning America. When nighttime comes he closes the steel shutters on his windows and doors as he tries to sleep with the horrible moaning and screaming of the infected. For the majority of the movie, Will Smith is the only actor on the screen, but that does not slow him down from giving an excellent performance. One of the better scenes of the movie is when he is chasing down a herd of deer in a ridiculously nice Mustang GT500. One of the deer escapes into a very dark building and the dog Sam chases it into it. This suspenseful scene is the first time you see the infected humans as they chase both Will Smith and the dog back into the light. As the story goes on, you begin to see that isolation is really beginning to take its toll on Robert Neville. His constant search for other people who are immune and the cure for the disease begins to drive him mad. Through out the entire movie you are hooked on what will happen next and ask yourself " how is he going to get out of this" or "will he ever find the cure". The suspense and roller coaster of emotions throughout the movie make it incredibly entertaining.

Cons:
For a movie with a personal grade of B+ it had a few minor details or things that made me question a bit to much. There was just a few too many unexplained events or ridiculous things that held it back from an A grade. First, I would of really liked to see more of the spreading virus. You see the initial panic as thousands of people try to evacuate the city but after that it just jumps to the dying world full of the infected. I think a scene of people being attacked, zombie style, would have really given the movie an excellent boost. The next thing that didn't sit will with me in the movie was the infected humans. Did the virus give you super human strength, super agility and made you almost indestructible. The infected are still human beings but had the ability to run full speed into a steel car without a scratch on them. They could bash their head through a bullet proof door without crushing their skull after easily scaling up the side of a building. It added a sense of fear to the situations but made it a bit to ridiculous. Another question that came to my mind was "what did they eat". WIth the large numbers of infected and low numbers of animals and humans, I feel they would have eventually ran out of food and possibly even turned on themselves. Another minor thing that bothered me about the movie is whenever his watch alarm went off, it seemed there was a missing sense of urgency. The alarm would sound and he would slowly walk back to his car then slowly go into his house and that was that. The second that went off I would of been MOVING! Now the movie was very entertaining, but things like that just held it back from being very realistic and believable. Yes it is a movie, but the idea of a global infection is not a new thing.

Conclusion:
I Am Legend is definitely worth the price of a ticket. The entire movie keeps you very entertained and when the credits come up you are in awe. While a bit scary for the kids, it is a movie that anyone can enjoy. Action and thrills give this great movie a solid B+ grade. Go see it and Let me know what you think...Till Next time, so long from Team Talking In Movies


Favorite Quote of the Movie
" I can help. I can fix this. Let me save you. I can save you; I can save everybody."


A special thanks to Joe and Jeanette Boz, thanks for coming with me to see the movie and helping me find eggs on the menu.