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I Am Legend (2007)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Synopsis
A mutated virus turns the population of the world into bloodthirsty monsters; everyone that is, apart from former military scientist Robert Neville. Living in quarantine on Manhattan island, Neville works day and night on finding a cure before the creatures devour him.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
Tall weeds, not fanny packs, clog Times Square in I Am Legend. And the problem with that is…? For all the film’s computerized effects rendering its virus-ridden Manhattan quiet as a tomb, the benefits are barely considered. Rents are remarkably low, for example. In his sunny, three-floor condo, the immune Robert Neville (Smith) flaunts a framed Starry Night, most likely by Vince himself. Traffic is nonexistent. And Will Smith, the kind of actor who needs a pet German shepherd sniffing at his ankles like Tom Hanks needed a volleyball in Cast Away, fills the air with chat. At night, diseased mutants come out to play. That much hasn’t changed.
Richard Matheson’s eerie 1954 novel has already inspired two ridiculous affairs (Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth, Charlton Heston in The Omega Man) and, obliquely, the brilliant career of zombie maestro George Romero. This new buffed-up version won’t be righting any wrongs. The script seizes on Matheson’s messianic strain, his weakest element, resulting in a doomy mysticism not unlike last winter’s overrated Children of Men. And the root of all evil? A smug scientist played by Emma Thompson. Pandora opens the box; this is the kind of movie in which an action hero has to slam it shut.
Author: Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York Issue 637.638: December 13–26, 2007
User reviews of this film
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- Pete said...
- Posted on Jan 12 2008 04:50 The end of the world is not wrought from global warming but by a man made bug that gets out of control, wiping out humanity except for an increasingly mad scientist holed up in a tatty apartment with a laboratory in the basement. Naturally the evil bug has turned everyone else into man-eating zombies - who appear at night aggressively fit - how they survive is a mystery; as Smith is the last dish on the plate. In trying to perfect a cure for the zombies (Why? I say let the ugly ones die) he puts himself into extreme danger as the zombies aren't that stupid - they start to learn and turn Smith's trapping techniques to their own advantage. You can guess the ending - but it's worth seeing a weed strewn empty cityscape gradually reverting to nature.
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- roxy said...
- Posted on Dec 29 2007 21:32 this movie was decently good but the ending was terrible i mean really they could have done much much much MUCH better than that
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- RAB SMITH said...
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Posted on Dec 29 2007 19:17
I am a long-term sci-fi/fantasy buff, and I went back to see this movie a SECOND time---when it somehow seemed more coherent.
The eerie, deserted sweeping views of a 'ghost-city' NY [probably achieved via post-production CGI overlays] are brilliantly-realized, and thoroughly convincing in their depiction of the barren, rapidly-decaying city wasteland: as 'LOST'a civilization as any mounted in movie history........this scenario conveys, effectively, the terrifying dilemma of being [apparantly] the last survivor on EARTH.
----On the downside, the usual malnourished-CGI legions of the 'living dead' are wheeled out, and typically often fail to integrate convincingly with their live-action counterparts.
---Oor hero ROBERT'S only companion in the opening reels---the alsation, SAM------is sadly missed, after being sadly justly excized from the full running-time.
Contains exquisitely-achieved scenes of destruction, which tie in nicely with the aftermath we have witnessed earlier---------the narritive contains cross-cutting drama from differing time periods, that never confuse the viewer.
A compelling, thought-provoking, well-paced, diverting and engaging sci-fi drama that paints a not-quite-as-bleak-view-as-it-COULD- have-been apocalyptic vision of the near-future.
---Contains a nice, low-key opening 'media interview,' in which a miracle 'cancer-cure' is touted as a turning point in human history----THAT much is true! - Report as inappropriate
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- Jack said...
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Posted on Dec 29 2007 17:55
What’s ridiculous is someone who thinks "The Omega Man" is “ridiculous” reviewing its remake ("The Omega Man" is as much of a source as Matheson’s novel).
How about this for a meaningful review? Fans of "The Omega Man" will celebrate "I Am Legend’s" cinematography, acting, and most of its special effects, but leave the theater wondering if the story of the mutant society and the alpha male seeking vengeance for the kidnapping of his mate was left on the cutting room floor. If so, the mutant use of dogs and sophisticated traps, and the final scene where the alpha male squares off against Will Smith, should have also been relegated there.
"The Omega Man" hasn’t aged well, but it will probably be remembered far longer than a mindless, albeit excellently crafted, action/horror flick such as "I Am Legend".
Jack
Flushing, New York - Report as inappropriate
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- priscilla said...
- Posted on Dec 28 2007 15:46 this movie sucked butt!!! big black ape butt!!!! what was up with the deer? why werent they infected? or the lion? movie sucks wait for video or clearance!
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- Truth said...
- Posted on Dec 13 2007 11:02 Children Of Men sucked ass.
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- SCott said...
- Posted on Dec 13 2007 02:46 I totally agree with Chris, you are a total tool. Children of Men was an awesome movie. Definitely one of my favorites. I read this review just because i saw your slam of COM on Rotten Tomatoes. Worst critic ever! Ughh! I need to bathe now you dirty, filthy ape!
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- Chris said...
- Posted on Dec 12 2007 20:46 First, you call Children of Men overrated? What a tool. Second, The Omega Man sucked. Talk about an overrated movie. Maybe if you weren't so focused on writing a terrible review you'd have made a point, but really, all I see is left-over hate from last year and an inability to focus on what's at hand.
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- JOHN DONALDSON PLATT said...
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Posted on Nov 24 2007 12:29
ppear on the site
This is the movie I and many others have long awaited, It appears that this film incorporates elements of Stephen King"s " The Stand" in its beginning of the outbreak, it also appears that elements of George R Stewart's Sci Fri Classic Earth Abides inspires some of the way the post plague world is portrayed. As the Unofficial Acting President of the Tom Savinni Fan Club I hope this film will be the vehicle which becomes the Opus of the apocolyptic zombie genre incorporating the Defoeesgue crusoenean dilemma of being shipwrecked on a wrecked civilization, combined with the ultimate "Opps my bad, tragic irony" of having the last vestage of preplague man, as the demigod of death to those who are the remaining human race, infected but still human in a state of chemical suppression treatment, this new order which finds its greatest threat lies not in the infection, or the undead it produced, but in the single remaining Man who like all legendary threats be they Hannibal or Plato MUST BE DESTROYED, It appears that the bloodsuckers portrayed for the screenb !st with Vincent Price in "Last Man on Earth" whose attack was later to be reflected in the zombies of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead will be of the high octane variety as introduced in 28 Days Later. And by the way I NEED A DATE WITRH A HOTTIE BABE $ PREMIERE MUST BE ZOMIE AFFECTIONADO! I have been told (too often ) that I resemble Bruce Camble of Army of of Darkness and Evil Dead SuperSMart Fame! - Report as inappropriate
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- Campbell said...
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Posted on Nov 22 2007 19:53
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about Richard Matheson's novel. For the 2007 film adaptation, see I Am Legend (film).
I Am Legend
Author Richard Matheson
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Horror / Science fiction novel
Publisher Orb Books (1995 edition)
Publication date 1954
Media type Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages 317 (1995 edition)
ISBN ISBN 031286504X (1995 edition)
I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in Los Angeles, California. - Report as inappropriate
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- Ed Barricks said...
- Posted on Nov 20 2007 17:52 This is a remake of Charlton Heston's "The Omega Man". The question is "Why". If you've seen the 1971 original then you've seen the best. End of story.
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Cast & crew
Director: Francis Lawrence
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman, Neal Moritz
Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson full cast
Genre(s): Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thrillers
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 100 mins
US Release: Dec 14 2007
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