I am Legend: and here is my review

I am Legend: and here is my review

by Sanjuro | Published on December 15th, 2007, 11:47 pm | Arts

I know you're legend, but what am I?

Before we start, I should give a little history here: Richard Matheson's story "I am Legend" has been around since 1954. The first film version starring Vincent Price was made exactly ten years after the book was released and was called "The Last Man On Earth". In 1971, Charlton Heston took on the role in "The Omega Man"

The story focuses on the last man alive after a worldwide pandemic that wipes out the words population. This story is a dark one. It's narrative weaves its way in and out of the human psyche and what it can handle. At times, the main character (Robert Neville) is completely overcome by loneliness and despair. In a film, this must be translated to the audience with real finesse. Luckily for the 2007 adaptation, the production team found this guy:

fresh-prince-of-bel-air-will-smith.jpg (56.73 KiB) Viewed 983 times

Now, this is a story all about how
his life got flipped-turned upside down
And I liked to take a minute
so Just chill and take five
I'll tell you how he became the last man alive

Yup, In 2007 it was the Fresh Prince himself who takes a turn at this protagonist. When I heard Will Smith was taking on this role, I was pretty disappointed. I think he does great work in lighter action films, but this script for I am Legend has been shopped around for many years and in every version Ive read, it has been one bitter pill to swallow. Very well written, but dark and hard edged. This script, as it was filmed, was almost a completely different animal in many ways from the ones I had read in the past-although many of the same elements were still there.

Smith is a "trailer" actor. Almost every film Ive seen him in has a trailer where he yells some soundbite like "Aw HELL naw" or "I have GOT to get me one of THESE!"... I digress, you know what I'm talking about. Imagine my surprise when he actually delivered (in a big way) in this film.


Smith has really come into his own as an actor and this film is proof. Much like Hanks in "Cast Away", the weight of this movie fell squarely on his shoulders and he handles it with ease. The first half of the picture feels like a study on what life would be if civilization vanished. We learn a lot about what happened to humanity in personal flashbacks and recorded news reports that Neville plays to keep the silence of loneliness from becoming overwhelming. We see he has a routine, a dog at his side, and a mission.

Neville has one focus, to find a cure for the thousands of infected that roam the night. The virus that took 90 percent of humanity had a nasty side effect, effectively turning them into vampire zombies. Neville works tirelessly to find a cure in any way possible but is unable to. Every day he broadcasts over AM channels for any survivor to meet him at midday at the docks, and every day he sits and waits.

The good:

I saw this digitally projected and was simply blown away by the visuals. Unlike the novel, which took place in San Francisco, "I am Legend" is set in NYC. I'm not quite sure how they did it, but they completely convinced me that NY had been deserted for years. It was gorgeous, eerie, scary, and desolate. They didn't simply give you a glimpse, or wide shots, they treated the city like another character.

This picture is NOT your average action film. There is a surprising depth here that isn't found in most big Hollywood productions. There are situations where the average film would go one way, but this one chooses to go another. There are moments of REAL emotion and loss, and an ending that is one of the bravest I've seen come out of blockbuster Hollywood in YEARS.

I hope other productions take a page from this. You can have a completely fun film that still has heart, subtlety, demonstrates self sacrifice, and isn't afraid to take the risky ending.

The Bad:

I felt like CGI was employed a bit too much with the night walkers. I think it would have been just as effective without it.

That's pretty much all I could find. Seriously.


Finally:

This was a good movie. It's not "Citizen Kane", but it's not "Lethal Weapon 4" either. Its a solid film with solid performances. The script is strong and I feel it's the best adaptation of the novella, even trumping "The Last Man On Earth" (which had been the best thus far) pretty completely.

Congratulations Will, you really pulled it off.

[Serendipitous]

Aw, crap. I'm never going to get caught up with my reading list or my movie list!

[Matt]

Good to hear this was well done. I've been wanting to see it.

[roknroller]

Nicely done Sanjuro!

Great flick! I saw it not once but twice over the weekend.
I managed to pick up a few things the second time that I missed the first go-round (in particular, the newscast info spewing in the backround noise in a few scenes).

I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more of the period "between" the outbreak and the time we join the film. I think seeing the main character's struggle to get to where he is 'now' would have been a positive addition for the story. However, the story does not fail without that sort of detail.



I imagine that the 'special edition DVD" that I am sure will follow will include some of the "extras" I was looking for!

Next on the "can't wait for this one" list:

[Sanjuro]

Thanks Roknroller!

I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more of the period "between" the outbreak and the time we join the film. I think seeing the main character's struggle to get to where he is 'now' would have been a positive addition for the story. However, the story does not fail without that sort of detail.

Actually, I thought they could have stuck another 30 minutes in the film easily. But, there is something to be said for the 'less is more' mentality of storytelling.

The more I think back about it, the more I realize how much I like the film. Almost felt like a indie film with a big ass budget.

"Sweeney Todd" is DEFINITELY on the list! But I have to go see "No Country for Old Men" first.

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

I went to see this movie the other day. While it was indeed "nicely done," it appeared to me to be just another in a series of cookie-cutter zombie movies. The first one I ever saw, "28 Days Later" was impressive to me, mostly because it was the first one I ever sat through. This movie added nothing much to the genre, and had nothing new to say about the human condition. The only thing it really had going for it that is different from other zombie movies is that it showed Will Smith (or a digified stunt man with Smith's face plastered on him) doing some high-energy exercises to show off some serious muscles. Hardly worth paying good money to see for a hetero guy with shopping still left to do before Xmas...

Of course, there were a LOT of problems with the details of the story. Might make a decent mental exercise to list them, if one enjoys doing that.

So I really don't think this will be going into my video library when the DVD comes out. {shrug}

[Sanjuro]

Well, I mean, it was no Disney film but then again, what is? I hate the zombie genra and liked this film. I find your comments interesting. I also found it to be the best adaptation of the book made yet.

Of course, there were a LOT of problems with the details of the story. Might make a decent mental exercise to list them, if one enjoys doing that.

Please elaborate. I just love it when people back up their opinions you know.

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

Of course, there were a LOT of problems with the details of the story. Might make a decent mental exercise to list them, if one enjoys doing that.

Please elaborate. I just love it when people back up their opinions you know.

Well, here's the list that I thought of while on the way home that night:

1) We saw that rats, dogs and humans were affected by this virus... why not the other mammals we saw: deer and lions, for instance?

2) When Will Smith gets strung up in a trap (of his own design!), he spends what appears to be at least a couple of hours hanging by his foot. It should need amputation by the time he finally gets down, don't you think?

3) When he tries out his human trial on a captured zombie, she has a cardiac arrest... which he appears to be able to "cure" with an injection. Looks a bit fishy to me. Medical experts might could clear this up.

4) When his dog gets infected, he tries to cure her with an experimental injection, but at the first sign of aggression, he strangles the beast. I'd have expected him to try isolating her to see if she could be cured after a bit longer.

5) The infection is likened to rabies, and obviously alters the brain. How could a "cure" restore normal brain functioning?

6) The whole thing about "god" telling this woman where a colony of survivors is seemed a very awkward way to inject religion into the story.

7) What the heck is a woman with medical training doing carrying a potentially world-saving blood sample around the countryside in her hands?

[Sanjuro]

1) We saw that rats, dogs and humans were affected by this virus... why not the other mammals we saw: deer and lions, for instance?

Well why not? We also didn't see any cats, elephants, etc. or the effects of the virus on them. I guess what Im saying is that at no point did it state the virus was 'all encompassing".

2) When Will Smith gets strung up in a trap (of his own design!), he spends what appears to be at least a couple of hours hanging by his foot. It should need amputation by the time he finally gets down, don't you think?

Not necessarily. I think it would certainly take a while for movement to return, but people hang upside down all the time. Often for therapeutic purposes. Keep in mind he was in peak physical condition as well. His leg was damaged for good after that, but I don't think it would need amputation. I think what you've made is an assumption with no real merit.

3) When he tries out his human trial on a captured zombie, she has a cardiac arrest... which he appears to be able to "cure" with an injection. Looks a bit fishy to me. Medical experts might could clear this up.

I assumed it was a shot of something to counter the anti-virus but could be mistaken. If someone is in cartiac arrest, sometimes a shot of adrenaline to the heart will restart, so perhaps something along those lines. One assumes after spending day after day working on this he would have gotten pretty good at bringing things back from the brink when his experiments went wrong.

4) When his dog gets infected, he tries to cure her with an experimental injection, but at the first sign of aggression, he strangles the beast. I'd have expected him to try isolating her to see if she could be cured after a bit longer.

If it had worked, the dog would have never gotten to the point of aggression. He had been doing this long enough to know that. The injection was merely a shot in the dark.

5) The infection is likened to rabies, and obviously alters the brain. How could a "cure" restore normal brain functioning?

Correct me if I am wrong, but a brain runs on chemical and electrical impulses. How do any of the psychotropic drugs work?

6) The whole thing about "god" telling this woman where a colony of survivors is seemed a very awkward way to inject religion into the story.

But a very good way of selling more tickets. Seemed clunky to me too, but Im used to that kind of thing in movies.

7) What the heck is a woman with medical training doing carrying a potentially world-saving blood sample around the countryside in her hands?

Uh, cause she can't carry it with her feet? What kind of question is that?? She handed it to someone at the compound, you didn't see the readily available cryo-container she kept in her car to transport it.

No offense, but these seem like REAL nitpicks, especially considering that you seemed to like films in the past with actual plot-holes.

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

Well why not? We also didn't see any cats, elephants, etc. or the effects of the virus on them. I guess what Im saying is that at no point did it state the virus was 'all encompassing".

Seems to me that if a virus can infect and cause the same symptoms in dogs, humans and rats, it would cross to pretty much any mammalian species equally well.

Not necessarily. I think it would certainly take a while for movement to return, but people hang upside down all the time. Often for therapeutic purposes. Keep in mind he was in peak physical condition as well. His leg was damaged for good after that, but I don't think it would need amputation. I think what you've made is an assumption with no real merit.

They don't hang by ropes. They protect the circulation in their extremities. This appeared to be a thin cord of rope snugged around the ankle, and it would have prevented any blood circulation for as long as he was hanging. That's one dead foot, regardless of how well-conditioned his character was.

I assumed it was a shot of something to counter the anti-virus but could be mistaken. If someone is in cartiac arrest, sometimes a shot of adrenaline to the heart will restart, so perhaps something along those lines. One assumes after spending day after day working on this he would have gotten pretty good at bringing things back from the brink when his experiments went wrong.

Maybe. Like I said, it seemed just a tad strange to me. No hint of a defibrillator in the room that I can recall. Odd, that.

If it had worked, the dog would have never gotten to the point of aggression. He had been doing this long enough to know that. The injection was merely a shot in the dark.

Wasn't he at this stage of the film icing down the resurrected zombie? So he was seeing this formula as more than a shot in the dark.

Correct me if I am wrong, but a brain runs on chemical and electrical impulses. How do any of the psychotropic drugs work?

IIRC, rabies eats away at the brain. Presumably this manufactured virus does the same. Once brain tissue is destroyed, there's no growing it back and restoring lost functioning. Correct? Seems to me that the only real solution to the disease would be extermination.

Uh, cause she can't carry it with her feet? What kind of question is that?? She handed it to someone at the compound, you didn't see the readily available cryo-container she kept in her car to transport it.

Meh. The closing scene was wordless, except for the voice over. Walking into the enclosure with an Igloo container and urging the security people to get it to medical experts would have conveyed the message a little better, IMO.

No offense, but these seem like REAL nitpicks, especially considering that you seemed to like films in the past with actual plot-holes.

[/quote][/quote]
I didn't say that these problems ruined the experience for me... they were just things that seemed a bit dodgy. Like I said, the real issue I had with the film was that the plot was pretty much the same as a whole lot of other films. You see one, you've pretty much seen them all.

[BecauseHeLives]

I think you guys need to meet in a secluded alley and settle this! LOL

I'm finally checking out the movie today so hopefully I'll be able to add to the conversation.

[Sanjuro]

You see one, you've pretty much seen them all.

Oh, like a Disney film.


Well, I think you are injecting a lot of your own presumptions into the film. Seems like you were really looking for a reason not to enjoy it, which is totally within your right. Especially where the virus in concerned. Look around at our actual viruses. RE: Species; They don't always mutate in the way one expects nor infect species in the same way (notice the dogs could tolerate shade but humans needed absolute darkness). That part seemed very believable. RE: Trap; I just think that he would have to be up there on the power line for more than a couple of hours to need a amputation. If one needs a further explanation perhaps the combat boots/brogans he was wearing may have allowed some circulation as well. RE: Icing the infected; He had no idea that this vaccine would work in any way, thus thought killing the dog (his only friend) was more humane than having it suffer. Icing the body was a accident.

IIRC, rabies eats away at the brain. Presumably this manufactured virus does the same

Being presumptuous again. How does one come to that conclusion? Lung Cancer makes one cough so presumably since one also coughs with a cold there are masses forming in the lungs as well?

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

You see one, you've pretty much seen them all.

Oh, like a Disney film.

Now now! Just because I take a lot of my vacations with the Mouse, it doesn't mean I automatically like every bit of rubbish that they pump out.

Well, I think you are injecting a lot of your own presumptions into the film. Seems like you were really looking for a reason not to enjoy it...

My reasons to not enjoy the film weren't really related to the plot holes I listed above. Generally, I tend to overlook such things when I enjoy the plot of a film. But when the film is less than riveting, it's small things like this list that starts to get my attention more than the big picture.

[Sanjuro]

Now now! Just because I take a lot of my vacations with the Mouse, it doesn't mean I automatically like every bit of rubbish that they pump out.

So says the man with a Disney avatar

My reasons to not enjoy the film weren't really related to the plot holes I listed above. Generally, I tend to overlook such things when I enjoy the plot of a film. But when the film is less than riveting, it's small things like this list that starts to get my attention more than the big picture.

Those weren't really plot holes so much as they were details the writer didn't feel the need to spell out. IMO, they gave the audience enough of what they needed to enjoy the picture and left one to fill in the blanks for themselves.

[Liv]

I'm very late to the table on this, but we just bought the DVD tonight at Wal-Mart, and watched it for the first time today. We passed it up in the theater in lieu of other offerings at the time, but was always sad I never got to see it.

I loved the movie. Especially the mechanical animal (mustang) metaphor, chasing the animals. The whole technology is a what killed everyone is really interesting.

I also loved that the writers actually included some very "smart" things like generators, etc... into the script... but you've got to wonder how he acquired an apartment with cast iron window coverings! Was that a perk of the job!

Also I kept expecting that woman and the kid to be associated with the mom and kid on the pier as they evacuated....

It's might be something on the extras disc, I'll hit tomorrow.

[Nfidel]

Something I wish they had covered in more detail in the film is the zombie's ability to reason. You never see that in the other zombie offerings and it's something I've always thought would be interesting. I plan to buy the book soon and read what the author had in mind. Oh, you can look at this.Zombie Emergency Procedure

[Liv]

Also being it is New York, and certainly there has to be a good number of Nuclear shelters left in the city, why wouldn't you choose a place such as that as your dwelling?

I know, I know.... "willing suspension of disbelief"....

[Nfidel]

Something I wish they had covered in more detail in the film is the zombie's ability to reason. You never see that in the other zombie offerings and it's something I've always thought would be interesting.

Oh crap, somebody must have been reading my mind. American Zombie

Synopsis: Filmmakers Grace Lee (“The Grace Lee Project”) and John Solomon (“Nonsense Man”) team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Despite their wildly different working styles, Grace and John manage to chronicle the hopes and dreams of four fascinating subjects: IVAN, a convenience-store clerk who longs for a career in publishing; LISA, a florist trying to recover her lost memories; JUDY, a hopeless romantic who learns to accept her true nature; and JOEL (pronounced “Yo-El”), a committed political activist striving for zombie rights. As Grace strives to get to know the zombies “on their own terms,” John is eager to uncover their darker side and rallies to get the crew permission to shoot at a three-day, zombies-only retreat called Live Dead where the documentary takes an unexpected – and dangerous – turn. What transpires there is beyond anything the filmmakers could imagine, as they are forced to re-evaluate their ideas about tolerance, identity politics and the future of the human race.

[Liv]

I was going through some old photo on the site, and ran into these golden oldies....

Get married as a Zombie:

[Liv]

Not sure if these will work for others... may be some sort of DRM on them... but here's the links off the DVD:

http://wbads-56.vo.llnwd.net/e1/drm/win ... 60_700.wmv

http://wbads-27.vo.llnwd.net/e1/drm/win ... 60_700.wmv

http://wbads-93.vo.llnwd.net/e1/drm/win ... 60_700.wmv

http://wbads-00.vo.llnwd.net/e1/drm/win ... 60_700.wmv

http://wbads-68.vo.llnwd.net/e1/drm/win ... 60_700.wmv

[The Rain King]

In general, I agree with Sanj, about "Legend". Rented it last week.I've never read the book, but I did like this movie, and I thought Will did a great job. No, everything wasn't plausible, but it's not a documentary. The part after his dog dies and he's really all alone, when he is in such an emotional state that he begs a mannequin to speak to him...well, it got me, I'll put it like that.

Somebody mentioned Sweeney Todd. My wife and I saw that one at the theater. It's worth a rent. But in case you don't already know, it's primarily a musical. The cast was outstanding, especially Depp. So were the costumes and the production sets.

[Liv]

Well I finished watching the "extras" last night for I am legend. Most of the stuff we've mentioned here come up in the behind the scenes... I hadn't posted.

Oh and the mannequins... they really we're alive... one blinked in the behind the scenes... It about scared the crap out of me.

But what really got me was the amount of footage that seems to be missing from the movie, and isn't included on the DVD-rom extras...

You can tell that several scenes with the woman and her child were cut.

Almost to the point of another film....

I'm thinking there is an alternate ending with the Doctor living...

[Liv]

Indeed there was an alternate ending:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/03/05/ ... s-amazing/

But I think I like him dieing better...

Personally I would have love to see him live, but not "that" ending... that's weird...

But there's still a crap load of footage out there I think where the 3 characters roam Manhattan.

[Liv]

Prequel coming

[Nfidel]

I thought the film was pretty good, but I read the book afterwards. My first thought was, "WHY DOESN'T SOMEONE MAKE THIS BOOK INTO A FILM?" So far no one has. Sorry for yelling.