(Long Island, N.Y.) I Am Legend, the new film starring the always bankable Will Smith, originally came into existence back in 1954 in the form of a Science Fiction novel written by Richard Matheson about the last man alive on Earth (for my slower readers, that’s where you’re standing right now). In the novel, a bacterial outbreak triggers the apocalypse, transforming the population of the planet into monstrosities resembling vampires. Yes, vampires. I mean, they can only come out at night, garlic and mirrors annoy them to no end, and they can only be killed with a wooden stake through their ticker. What does that sound like to you?
Anyway, there is one lone survivor who is strangely immune to the disease- a scientist named Robert Neville, who has literally inherited the Earth. His days are spent locating and killing vampires in their hiding places, in addition to scavenging the desolate, abandoned cities for food and supplies. Come nighttime, however, the vampires emerge looking for blood and the roles of Hunter/Hunted are reversed. Locking himself in his fortified home each sundown, Neville spends his time working feverishly on a possible cure to vampire plague. In addition, he must combat the intense loneliness permeating every moment of his life for the past three years since the outbreak, since everyone he’s ever known is dead…or worse.
Considered a classic novel, there’s been several film versions of I Am Legend produced throughout the years. The first one that comes to mind is the excellent The Last Man on Earth, made in 1964 and starring the great Vincent Price. A far different version was released in 1971, entitled The Omega Man, and starring Charlton Heston. This movie deviated from Matheson’s novel in numerous ways, whereas the Price film was very a loyal adaptation.
Now, we fast-forward to 2007 and find Hollywood taking yet another stab at bringing I Am Legend to the screen. This particular attempt has been a long time in the making- Warner Brothers, the studio backing the project, sat on the rights to the novel for years. In 1997 the god of all everything that is awesome, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was slated to star in the film with Ridley Scott directing. However, the film’s budget spiraled out of control and the project was eventually shelved. It then sat in a perpetual limbo until 2005 when Francis Lawrence signed on to direct and Will Smith was cast in the lead.
The 2007 version of I Am Legend is notable for it’s production- sections of New York City, where the movie takes place, were closed off for filming, and extensive computer work was done to remove pedestrians and automobiles from shots to give the impression that the city was completely devoid of any human life. As a New York resident myself, I found the result awe-inspiring, especially the shots of a deserted Times Square filled with derelict cars and overgrown with vegetation. I’m hoping the eventual DVD release has an in-depth “making of” feature that goes through the process they used step-by-step.
Well, let’s get to the movie itself, shall we? I already covered the basic plot of the novel in the beginning of this review, and unlike a previous Will Smith film based on a famous book (I, Robot), this one actually has something to do with its literary source. The basics: Smith plays Robert Neville, who, in addition to being a scientist, is also a member of the military. The unexplained viral outbreak in the novel has become a mutated form of the measles that was initially being touted as a cure for cancer by a doctor (Emma Thompson in a cameo). Thanks a lot, Doc.
The disease ends up killing the vast majority of humanity, and most of the remaining population transforms into vampire-like creatures who then eat the remaining survivors who were somehow immune to the virus. Neville, one of the immune, has been alone with his faithful dog Sam for the last three years, and while having the run of New York City during the daytime, must seal himself in his home every night from the nocturnal creatures wandering in search of yummy human flesh. As a result, Neville is slowly showing signs of insanity due to the loneliness and fear he is forced to deal with every day of his life, but he does his best to keep it together.
Unlike the book, he no longer hunts and kills the vampires, but instead captures them to experiment on. No, he’s not testing their opinions on delicious food additives, he’s just desperately trying to find a cure for the plague threatening to destroy humanity forever. He also broadcasts radio messages every day, inviting any survivors to join him in his relative safety, but it seems that no one will ever answer his call.
It also appears that the formally mindless vampires are now in fact watching Neville, learning his routines and plotting…
Overall, I Am Legend was very good. It was nice to see the serious, talented version of Will Smith on-screen and not the “Big Willie Style” Will Smith making an idiot of him self and rapping during the end credits. This movie is very heavy-handed and it needed to be played seriously in order for it to work. Smith rose up to the challenge and turned in a delightfully nuanced performance. He makes an odd joke here and there, but within the context of the film they are totally appropriate. His relationship with his pet dog Sam, his only real companion throughout this nightmare, was especially touching.
Still, every adaptation of I Am Legend to date, including this one, seems to have the same exact issue- the first 2/3rds all tend to be uniformly amazing, but the last 1/3rd all introduce a certain plot development that ends up taking away from the greatness. The movies don’t get bad at this point, but they certainly tend to suffer for it. That’s all I’ll say on that subject- I’ll leave it up to you to watch the film and make up your own mind. Anything more would ruin the experience.
And I really have to say, the camera work was truly great. From a pure horror movie perspective, the scene where Neville is searching for his dog through a pitch-black building was brilliantly shot, with just the light from his machine gun piercing the darkness and the camera following close to his back, giving you exact insight to his limited perspective. It really made for a brilliant, tense scene. However, on the other end of the spectrum, the vampires are rendered using fairly unimpressive computer graphics and really aren’t all that scary once you finally get to see them. They end up looking like the Reaper monsters from Blade 2, only without the cool wacky mouths that split open when they’re about to eat you.
I Am Legend, while not a very loyal adaptation of the novel, still holds true to its spirit, manages to affect you on an emotional level (unless you’re a cold, unfeeling brute!), and provides a unique take on the end of the world. I’d tell you to check it out, but considering the December box office records it shattered this past weekend, chances are you already have. If you’re holding out, don’t- I recommended it highly.
