DVD : I Am Legend [2007]

Rating: - I am Legend, almost a great one
Any film which holds nice Emma Thompson (here playing a 'Dr Crippen', English crime buffs please note) responsible for the death of 5 billion people can't be all bad, and I AM LEGEND, fourth version of the famous work by Richard Matheson, is almost all good. Despite those who harp on about the changes from the source novel and weaknesses in the CGI department LEGEND, like Smith's earlier I ROBOT, proves a pleasurable surprise.

Smith plays Robert Neville ostensibly the last man on earth, fighting the zombies of the dark while struggling to isolate an antidote to a virus which has destroyed humanity. Swopping THE OMEGA MAN's over talkative, white haired soul brother brethren which menace Charlton Heston for more fearsome, inarticulate brutes is a real improvement, while Smith's sensitive portrayal of Neville brings to the surface a humanity and sadness streets away from Heston's chess playing, machine-gunning white autocrat. In one scene Smith tearfully asks a shop mannequin to talk back to him. To his credit the actor walks away from this moment with his dramatic integrity intact, and introduces a pathos missing from the franchise before.

Whether or not one sees the enhanced Christian subtext as successful or not will be a matter or taste (I gave it the benefit of the doubt), but the film retains the central irony of an atheistic hero proving the salvation on mankind. In any case it is no more subtle - and arguably less blasphemous, should one care - than Heston's carefully staged 'crucifixion' death scene in OMEGA.

Interestingly the new script has Neville refer to his perilous existence as at 'ground zero' - a significant phrase in the context of mass death, and which aptly recalls the apocalyptic mood of 9/11. Like the contemporary American mood, Neville too thinks he can 'fix it' (ie put the status quo back together again) a view reinforced by the final image of LEGEND: a fortress community, a harmonious USA in miniature perhaps, and one presumably besieged by hostile attackers.

Criticism of LEGEND has largely been levelled at the last third which has been taken as inferior to the first two, an opinion no doubt started by the American market which saw a feel-good ending. For the UK DVD release this has been replaced by something more downbeat and is more powerful.

Having said this, the most memorable parts of the film remain those which evolve around a lonely Neville in a deserted city, which is convincingly realised. Smith's portrayal of a haunted hero, broken by the death of his dog, is a fine one, and lifts the film well above average. It's a sign of the changing cultural times that Neville's solitary trip and mouthing of the words from the anti-establishment WOODSTOCK in THE OMEGA MAN is here replaced by an equivalent moment before the family-friendly SHREK and amongst sympathetic company at that, an altogether less powerful moment. And if perhaps the closing 20 minutes do seem a little breathless, then this is a minor miscalculation in a genre piece which I think will bear revisiting.

---

Rating: - Disappointing, but some funny moments
Long awaited to see this considerng the trailers and ads which tries to make it a must see. But... opening scenes are OK with a few funny sketches, such as Will using the wing of a fighter plane to tee off as if it were a golf driving range. Then the film turns into a kind of Blade/ Underworld scenario but the creatures and suspense are disappointing. I wouldn't buy it, just rent it.

---

Rating: - Dross....
Sorry, but this film stinks and sinks without a trace when set alongsides The Omega Man and Quiet Earth. There is just no excuse for its lack of real creduality (a wonder cure-all for cancer that was only trialed on a few thousand people) and Will Smith gives a very subdued and wooden performance as the lead, if any acting honours are due they should go to the dog! Given the budget and the star lead it really should be better. The basic premise of the film is something that most of us will have thought about at some time so can I suggest that you watch The Quiet Earth which was very low budget but did have a touch of reality.

---

Rating: - Loved it
I thought this was a great film. True they have pretty much ignored the book it was based on, but do we really need such a hopeless ending? I have given it 4 stars rather than 5 because in the book the female character introduces a twist to the story. The film chooses to do without this and plays it straight instead. Over all though thoroughly enjoyable.

---

Rating: - A decent film, but the story has been dumbed down by Hollywood.
This seems to be as much a remake of 'The Omega Man' just as much as a film adaptation of the book 'I am Legend'. Sadly they make some of the same mistakes 'The Omega Man' made in turning this great book into a film. Typically, Hollywood has changed too much especially the ending. Having said that, this film is certainly better than The Omega Man and stays closer to the book, but not close enough.

Despite the great acting and the many other positive aspects of the movie, I cannot help but be angry at the way Hollywood dumbed-down this movie. Judging it on its own merit, this film deserved 4/5 at least .... but I cannot help but feel insulted that the makers of this movie didnt keep faith with the books ending. Another thing that annoys me is the amount of screen time, or lack of, in which we see the infected. In the book they were much more of a dominant presence.

Dont get me wrong .... this is a good film, but as a fan of the book I feel I have been let down.