I am Legend

Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world. He is the new Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks rolled into one single person. he makes big action movies and they open huge and when he opens smaller dramas, they open huge. He is the single biggest box office draw these days and the opening weekend numbers of this movie will prove that. Right now it is being reported that I am Legend experienced the biggest December opening and Will's biggest regular weekend opening, ever. It is a movie I have been looking forward to since I first heard that Will Smith would be starring in a movie where he is the last person on Earth. I remember when Castaway came out I wondered if any actor other than Tom Hanks could do such a thing and one name I thought of was Will Smith. Now he gets a chance for me to test that theory with this movie. How did he measure up?

The story is about as basic as a movie could possibly be- A virus breaks out over the planet and turns almost everyone into these weird zombie/vampire like creatures. A select few are immune but it is believed that the Vampire things killed them and we are left with one man alive- Robert Neville (Smith). Neville was a military scientist and before the outbreak it was believed he would help fix the virus. Obviously that did not happen, but as he is the only man alive he is still trying to reverse the effects of the virus using animals trials and then testing whatever creatures he can catch in these awesome traps. As he is the last man on Earth, Neville relies on his dog, Sam, for companionship and he has set up mannequins all over the desolate New York landscape, in order to have people to talk to. He is a man always on the verge of a breakdown, but he mostly finds a way to keep it together by sticking to a routine. He hunts, gathers, works out, golfs, rents movies and when his alarm goes off he gets home, eats dinner, washes his dog and then when his alarm goes off again he shuts his house down and just tries to survive the night.

Will Smith passes the test with flying colors in this movie. He pulls off being the only person on screen for a majority of the movie and it works. He is funny when funny is called for and he plays the mental breakdowns impeccably. He has long been a master at green screen acting- MIB, ID4 Wild Wild West and I am Robot- but here he takes it to another level with a haunting portrayal of a man unsure of everything. The man is a Godless hunter and scientist and he plays it with gripping intensity. The CGIed New York landscape is breathtaking in it's desolation and grandiose camera movements really help propel this movie to an epic level. There are a lot of cool sweeping circular camera shots that really help build the high level of intensity the movie will eventually reach. Francis Lawrence, the director, has some pacing issues to be sure and the ending of the movie feels rushed, very rushed actually, but when he gets it right, he really cooks on all cylinders. For example, the first time we really get a glimpse of the horror of these creatures, the scene bristles with a gripping intensity that I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for the jump moment to scare the death out of me. That scene, taking place in a dark, seemingly abandoned building, inhabited by the creatures, is a slow, quiet and dark build, for a good couple of minutes before it reaches its apex and it erupts in a loud, fast, furious and satisfying moment.

Unfortunately, those moments don't happen nearly enough to satisfy those people who ant only action. This is not a movie concerned with solely going after the big action sequences. Sure it has them- the closing attack in the house is a doozy- but it takes its time for the most part. The movie allows us to really get to know Smith's character before ripping the story from us in a much too quickly reached climax. I am not sure if this happened in the shooting of the movie or the editing of the movie, but it feels like there are just things missing between the second and third act, which kind of diminishes what could have been a greatly satisfying movie. Don't get me wrong, the moments where the movie is gripping and frightening far outweigh the problem moments and I liked that we only see the world before the virus during flashbacks in the few moments where Smith's character find rest, but at times the pacing is slow, then rushed.

My final complaint is that at times the CGIed creatures look a little off. I can't really explain what I mean by that but if you see the movie, I think you'll agree that they just don't seem complete at times. However, the feel of these creatures is incredible and they look very scary and emit disgustingly scary sounds when they umm "communicate" with each other. They move faster, jump higher and can certainly take bullets like they are 50 cent, but there isn't enough screen time for them to fully be effective. The movie is a fun, exciting, thrilling ride through survival, loneliness, dedication and the philosophy of Bob Marley songs and it is worth seeing, even if just for the scene in the building I described earlier, because seriously, just wow.

Final grade: B