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Movie Review: "I Am Legend"

by Jeanne on December 17th, 2007

"I Am Legend" chronicles the life of Robert Neville as he navigates his way through New York City after a virus turns the entire population into light-sensitive, flesh-eating vampires.  It’s loud, it’s action-packed and it has a message.

Continue reading after the jump (Spoiler Alert):

The movie starts out in 2009 with a doctor (played by Emma Thompson) being interviewed about her startling accomplishment: she has cured cancer.  Jump ahead three years and Will Smith is tearing down the deserted streets of New York City in a, admittedly gorgeous, Ford Mustang GT500 with a rifle and his trusted dog, Sam, at his side.  The buildings are crumbling, grass is growing around the long-forgotten vehicles and, aside from the sound of the Mustang, the silence is deafening.  It makes the Times Square Scene in Vanilla Sky look like child’s play.  Yet, amid the devastation, one sign stands out - "God Still Loves Us."  It is the first of several increasingly less-subtle attempts at Christian allegory (I’ll revisit this later).

He hunts deer but backs off when lions inexplicably appear out of nowhere, searching for food.  He talks to mannequins at a video store and goes home to make dinner for himself and Sam.  He chides the dog for not eating her vegetables and gives her a bath while he sings along to Bob Marley.  Viewers will almost forget the type of movie they actually paid to see and then, with the sound of a wristwatch alarm, things quickly change.  The day’s last glimmers of sunlight are shut out of Robert’s world when he armors his doors and windows and prepares for nightfall.  This instantaneous transition from near normalcy to sheer lunacy occurs throughout the movie and it is effective in the sense that it makes the scariest scenes scarier and the most mundane of life’s daily activities more tender and meaningful. 

The recurring theme, however, is Robert’s loss of faith in humanity and the allegorical nuances that develop this underlying story.  The film quickly and clearly establishes that Robert sees the Infected as animalistic and incapable of human emotion.  In one scene, he lures one out of hiding in order to test his vaccine.  When another of the Infected attempts to come out of the building after him, Robert sees this as evidence that all human reasoning has been lost when, in fact, it appeared as though vampire was just upset. Maybe it was a man who was mad that his girlfriend has been taken to be used as a lab rat but that thought never occurred to our protagonist.  Not surprisingly, it was clear that he needed to learn something from it all. 

In flashbacks, we are shown that, when he tried to help his wife and child (played by real-life daughter, Willow Smith) evacuate, the family had prayed together but now, he seems to have lost his faith.  Yet, on his refrigerator he has put a picture of himself from a magazine cover that asks: "Soldier? Savior? Scientist?"  It is as if he, himself, is conflicted about his role.  Later, more survivors are inserted into the storyline when a figure, shrouded by a bright light, appears just in time.  He can barely see but he catches a glimpse of a crucifix hanging from the rear-view mirror.  It turns out that a woman, Anna (Alice Braga), and her son, Ethan (Charlie Tahan), have heard his AM radio broadcasts and have come to him on their way to a survivor’s colony in Vermont.  It is through his interactions with Anna and Ethan that we see Robert’s character develop and change.  Ultimately, we learn the truth about whether Robert is "a soldier, a scientist or a savior." 

The main drawback with this film is that it requires us to depart from reality on several occasions.  For example, why, if it is so dangerous and Robert has food in his home, must he venture out every single day stopping at the video store to chat with mannequins along the way?  How do Anna and Ethan get to NYC?  The bridges have been blown out and she’s travelled all the way from Brazil.  Did she get to the island by boat/ferry (with her car!?!?) and would she really go out of her way to stop as she tried to find her way to Vermont?  How is he able to recover so well from that leg injury just minutes after he needed to be able to move quickly?!?!? 

Well, fortunately, the rest of the movie is good enough that I was able to let these little things go but be aware that these little things, and the spiritual element, of the story may irk some movie-goers.

I’ve given this movie 4 out of 5 Geckos, here’s a look at how it has been rated elsewhere (click on the links to read their reviews):

• Roger Ebert - 3/4 Stars, Ebert’s Users - 2.5/4 Stars
• Entertainment Weekly - B
• Rotten Tomatoes - 62%, Users - 75% 

Quick trivia - did you know that, back in 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally slated to star in this movie but it was eventually shelved by Warner Bros. because the budget had escalated to $108 million? 

In 2002, Schwarzenegger became the producer of "I Am Legend" and started negotiating with director Michael Bay and Will Smith and, again, saw the project cancelled but, this time, because WB president, Alan F. Horn, did not like the script.

It makes you appreciate all the effort that was put into bringing it to theaters!

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POSTED IN: Remakes, Now Playing, Science Fiction, Drama, Film Reviews