I Am Legend

Here's a cool movie I watched when my family came to visit!

I      A M      L E G E N D

Theatrical Release: December 2007

Genre: Cuz it's a Thriller! Thriller night! And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike... You know it's THRILLER! Thriller night!...

Sub-genre: Post-apocalyptic Omega man scenario + canine companion... If the liberals had their way, the dog and Will Smith would be married in this film.

Starring: The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air; A German Shepherd; hundreds of computer-generated zombies; mannequins to keep the Fresh Prince company

The overview: Another post-apocalyptic movie wherein the central character (Will Smith) shows you how he'd live his daily life in the epicenter of the pandemic plague that killed most of NYC. I'll suspend my disbelief that the ONE scientist who does research on the virus that's so lethal, is immune to it. OK. I'll let you have that one. And Dr. John Legend (Smith, but not really the character's name, hehehe) really is trying, daily, to cure the crazy disease that's infected the city. There are no fits of hilarity. Anywhere. This is a very somber movie. Dogs die. Frowny face emoticon... But only zombie dogs, so it's ok. Smiley face emoticon...

I didn't know what I'd think of this movie. I don't know why I like Will Smith, I just do. And not because of "Get Jiggy With It" but definitely for "You Saw My Blinker, Bitch" (Google it). There are a lot of good things to say about this movie, starting with the story. If you've put out a good movie in Hollywood, chances are, it's not an original script but rather an adaptation of a killer book. In this case, I Am Legend, is a remake of a remade movie that was itself, a remake of a movie that was based on the book. Confused? Ok: 1954, "I Am Legend" the book is published (Richard Matheson writing); 1964, the movie "The Last Man On Earth" is made, adapted from the book but with a less intelligent title; 1971, another movie is made based on either the book or the last movie or whatever, but it's called "The Omega Man" and stars (drumroll) Charlton Heston. So the movie's been made. Repeatedly. But the Fresh Prince version is undoubtedly the best. Having never seen the previous two attempts, I'll stand behind that conviction. I despise when m

ovies rely on CGI to save money (I'll get to that in a bit) but when you're trying to show what New York City would look like if Mother Nature tried to reclaim it, you're gonna have to use some computers or crumble buildings on your own. So we follow Dr. Neville (Smith's characters real name) on his daily grind through a completely abandoned NYC. Just him and his dog. The dog really makes the movie, too. I thought the dog might've been put in to fill some dead air but it really seemed like the dog, Sam, was a supporting actor. More than Bill Paxton ever would be. 

When you present an audience with a scenario for the post-apocalyptic world, your version can't have ANY holes or the audience will sense it, unconsciously, and there goes your sense of realism. No inconsistencies or things that just don't work in real life. This movie has it's bases covered. Neville's routine in a day consists of trying to find infected animal specimens for him to try new antidotes on, hunting food (CGI deer in Times Square), shopping, cooking, working out, everything he can to maintain a semblance of normalcy. I have to think I'd do the same in his situation. Of course, the precautions Neville takes to protect what he has from the infected people (who still live in the city but don't come out in the daylight) are thought out well and seemingly fool-proof. The ONE thing I can't figure out, though: Fresh Prince drives a Mustang GT and a Hummer H2. Where the eff does he get gas?!

The story progresses as it should, disastrously. But ya know what, it's the end of the world. Things are gonna sorta suck at that point and life isn't fair. You form a quick emotional bond to Neville and his situation (he lost HIS family too) so the movie is emotional as well as entertaining, which is what I always look for. There are some great thought-provoking scenes and the movie is emotionally draining. Not a family venue, that's for sure. And while Neville has an applaudable passion for Bob Marley (I can certainly relate), I take two small issues with this: 1) Bob Marley wrote and recorded hundreds of songs in his lifetime. Neville 

only sings one (Three Little Birds) and it's not even the best one. The chorus of the song goes, "Don't worry about a thing/ Cuz every little thing's/ Gonna be alright" which I find ironic because a city populated only by zombies and their zombie dogs gives me pause for worry. Truly, I'd be shitting my pants. 2) Neville named his daughter Marley. Oh, c'mon. I mean... Come. On.

The only thing I didn't like about the whole movie? The zombie cast was all computer generated! So aside from looking cartoonish, it took away from the seriousness of the situation and diminished the horror. There's not much scary about a blood sucking Noid coming after you (remember The Noid?) Would it have been less expensive or as expensive to hire 10-20 extras, paint 'em up with fake blood and zombie make-up, and tell them all, "Go ape-shit while you chase Will Smith!" It would've seemed so much scarier and realistic! Hire some actors, dammit! We're in a recession! Extras gotta feed their families, too! Even the zombies in Shaun Of The Dead were played by real people! And the animals roaming free in NYC, the deer, the lions, the zombie dogs, those definitely should've been real. Computer-generated deer = Bambi. CGI characters never move quite as realistically as they should and there's just something missing in their eyes. Always. Hopefully the sequel will remedy this. Actually it's a prequel. Now there's a new idea in Hollywood!

Overall: A good movie. Will Smith at his worst will always be better than Nicholas Cage at his best. A few tweaks and this movie would've been a 8 or a 9.

Best Scene: Neville gets his own zombie trap turned 180 degrees on him when he walks right into a zombie snare set for him when he tries to save his favorite mannequin. I'm not shitting you. 

Overall: 7 out of 10. If I'd been watching it by myself I would've enjoyed it more but with my family over, I was so worried that they'd think movie was a downer.

What my wife said: "Well... That was a downer."

Who would enjoy this movie: Most people. Definitely not a "date movie", though. Especially if your date is one of those PETA chicks you picked up at the protest where she was naked in a cage rather than wearing fur on her body. You know exactly who I'm talking about. And I wouldn't let kids under 13 watch it. I guess that would explain the PG-13 rating, eh?

Watch it if you like: Independence Day; Akira; Dawn Of The Dead; That other zombie movie starring the guy who I always think is DMX; 28 Days Later

Next In My Netflix Q: The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, then Sex And The City

**Thanks to Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb for various reference sources**