I Am Legend is a horrid excuse for filmmaking. From start to finish almost nothing works. The pacing is horrendous. The story is disjointed and pointless. Despite a few competent moments, Will Smith’s performance as Robert Neville skews into a highly irritating display of overacting. The script certainly didn’t help him out any. And the special effects look like they were ripped out of The Mummy Returns – complete with anatomically impossible jaw movements.

Did I mention that I didn’t like this film?

The film opens with a brief television interview in which the “scientific” basis for the film’s zombie is explained: a cure for cancer has been discovered by way of a genetically engineered virus. It certainly doesn’t take very long to realize that the virus will get out of control and be the cause of the zombies. From there we flash forward three years to see the devastation left in the wake of the viral outbreak and zombie takeover.

But instead of establishing the utter wasteland left by the tragedy, the first shots are of Robert Neville joyriding in a perfectly shiny sports car, careening through the littered streets of Manhattan, and managing to maintain absolute complete control of his car until he’s ambushed by … deer!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

The opening sequences do a number of things wrong. From the utter implausibility of hunting deer from a sports car, to the use of high speed camera shots as a means of establishing the desolation of Manhattan. The shiny car is a jarring juxtaposition to the wasteland. And even if one can rationalize Neville taking the time to clean it up and shine it before going a-hunting, it still is a bad idea when you’re trying to portray a world that has, in the words of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, “moved on.”

From here, there are a number of sequences meant to establish just how alone Neville is – with only his dog, Sam, as a companion. Neville’s dog is certainly an enjoyable “character” for the story, but there’s simply not a whole lot of interaction between the two. The problem with isolation films like this one (think Tom Hanks in Castaway) is that they rely overmuch on a character essentially talking to himself – which is the case here.

Neville’s most compelling character element is his devotion to finding a “cure” to the zombie symptoms. His dedication to restoring his way of life is certainly commendable. And it leads to the film’s best scene, in which he uses Bob Marley to explain his dedication to his cause. But otherwise, Neville himself slowly devolves over the course of the film, leading to some truly cringeworthy performances from Smith.

And when we finally do get to see the zombies, the CGI work is embarrassing. They literally look like rejects from a Mummy film and, furthermore, their “rabid” condition has turned them into supermen and superwomen who are able crawl up the sides of buildings like Spider-Man. It’s simply a wretched display.

But the worst part of the whole film is that it, simply, has almost no point whatsoever. There is the “Prometheus Unbound” commentary of a technological invention getting out of control, as evidenced by the explanation of the zombies. There is a decent scene in which Neville talks about Bob Marley going on stage two days after being shot (saying the forces of darkness don’t take days off). And there is a character who espouses the need to trust to God. But each of these moments could have existed in any other film. They simply don’t connect to form a cohesive purpose for the film.

Oh, and the dog dies.

Overall Grade: F

I Am Legend is based on a book by Richard Matheson in which tried to turn the tables on the audience, showing how the main character could be viewed as a “monster” by the rest of the world — which would have at least given the film a point.  Instead, the film almost entirely loses that concept, making only a half-hearted attempt to even try and address such a concept.  And the rest of the film is just not worth watching.

Topics: Film Review, Horror, Sci-Fi
Filed under: Film

Related Articles:

• 1.042 – The Virus – Afterworld Review
• 1.043 – Control Group – Afterworld Review
• 2.13 – What Lies Below – Fringe Review
• 1.17 – Blue Shadow Virus – Clone Wars Review
• 1.18 – Mystery of a Thousand Moons – Clone Wars Review
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Film Review
• The Ghost and the Darkness – Film Review
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Film Review
• WALL•E – Film Review
• Back To The Future, Part II – Film Review