I Am Legend

Sometimes movies would be much more fun if I could truly turn my brain off and just stare at the pretty pictures. I was able to do that for the first two-thirds of I Am Legend but then too much nonsense took place towards the end of the story. What I was left with when I walked out of the theater was a great performance by Will Smith, Francis Lawrence delivering on the tension of the story, but the plot contained so many holes that it left me annoyed once the credits rolled.

I am quickly becoming a fan of Francis Lawrence’s work. This is only his second movie, but with I Am Legend and Constantine he has been able to film a couple of really good-looking movies. The empty New York City that appears here is just an amazing thing to see. Although it was obvious that they achieved the overgrown vegetation, wild animals, and degradation of the buildings through special effects, it was not obvious on the screen. While watching the movie, it looked real enough to fool me. Once the environment was set there was always a constant level of tension. Every sound or change in light could mean something bad was about to happen. Having Will’s watch beep to notify him that the sun is about to go down was a sweet idea. It always made you wonder if this was the point when shit was going to go down. The entire movie was eerily silent until it was broken up by the sound of the infected. And that was the best part of the infected; when you just heard them around the edges. It increased the paranoia level of I Am Legend. It was just an all around slick job by Lawrence.

If there is any actor who can thrive in a one-man show then it is Will Smith. I Am Legend proves that he doesn’t need other people to act against, dogs, mannequins, and his own hallucinations will do. He somehow pulls off all of the emotions that a man in his position would be going through. When he is hunting and driving around with Sam, you can see him having fun with his friend. But when his watch beeps everything changes and it is clear by just looking at his face. Even after 3 years, the nights terrify him. There is also the look of obsession when he goes down to his lab to look for a cure. Each of these moods are beautifully portrayed by Smith. But the best scene in the whole film is when the infected move one of his mannequins over night. Everything spills out when Will sees the mannequin in a different part of NYC. He has gone insane at that moment and it is an unbelievable scene. Will Smith is someone that clearly hasn’t given his best performance because he routinely brings something new to the table in his movies.

I don’t want to hammer I Am Legend for the missing pieces but I have to at least mention them. First of all after 3 years, where the hell is Will getting the energy to power his HUGE home. Did he scour NYC for generators after everything hit the fan? And if the bridges were blown up in an attempt to stop the spread of the infection, how are vehicles getting to and away from Manhattan? And let me get this straight Will has been broadcasting for 3 years on ALL AM stations and I am supposed to just accept that ending? And finally the infected were a disappointment. They were all CGI and they looked it. It was a letdown after all the buildup.

I may have had some issues with I Am Legend, but they did not stop it from being a really good movie. I was all over the edge of my seat for most of it. The ending may have let me down but that doesn't completely overturn the greatness that proceeded. Plus Will Smith is just fun to watch. He had to use all of the tools at his disposal and he did not disappoint.

8 out of 10