DVD : I Am Legend [2007]

Rating: - Good Film, Could've Been Better
A really good film, in particaular the first half which is basically Will Smith (gave a great performance) and his dog as the only survivors of a deadly virus. The second half is not just as absorbing, but still worth the watch. I was disappointed at the lack of the main idea of the book, that Robert Neville should eventually become the "bad guy."

Still a really well made film though, and great value at £9!

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Rating: - The Book Is Better
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant. Then a few weeks later I read the book. And the film misses the main point of the book.

Now dont get me wrong, enjoyable film, and i thought Will Smith was brilliant. But the book is just about a normal man caught up in the apocalypse, and what his solitude does to him metally emotionally and pyhsically. In the beginning of the movie, we catch a small glimpse of this. But then it turns into a blockbuster, in which the only goal is to glue viewers to their seats. It misses the most intersting part of the story, the mental state of Robert Neville. The book gives us a different Neville than the film, a bitter, cyincal and angry man. We dont see Smith's mental state too much, and thats how we relate to Neville.

Watch the film, but you really need to read the book.

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Rating: - I Am Legend
Love The Story, Love the effects, Love Will, Love the Dog
Great Film was fantastic in the cinema and cant wait to own it and watch it again as bits weve spoke about i missed. A good film to watch again and again. I love these movies that show cities in total silence like 28 Days Later in London. Well done Will Smith you hold your own in this one and of course sam the dog x

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Rating: - I Am Legend
It's been 40 months since the island of Manhattan was quarantined, following the outbreak of a virus, which had originally been a cure for cancer (helpfully provided by an uncredited Emma Thomson). The sole survivor in New York - and possibly the world - is one Robert Neville (Will Smith) - military highflier and virologist. I Am Legend follows Neville's attempts to create a cure for the virus, which either kills those it comes into contact with, or mutates them into creatures who devour the small proportion of the population who have proven resistant. The film also follows Neville's slow mental demise. He lives barricaded inside his Greenwich Village townhouse, the doors and windows of which are sealed every night to keep out the mutated humans. His only companion is his dog Sam (Abbey) and a few strategically place mannequins.

In a role which would be a challenge for most actors, Smith manages to place himself effortlessly into the mind of a man who hasn't had any human contract for years. For a thriller-cum-sci-fi-cum-horror film, the outset is short of dialogue, for obvious reasons. The bonds Smith forms with his canine companion Sam (who was cruelly passed up for best supporting actress nomination at the Oscars,) and the mannequins he has doted throughout his daily routine, shows how far man will go to maintain his sanity.

The decision by director Francis Lawrence to show the evacuation of Manhattan as a series of flashbacks helps to break up what could have been a possibly a boring opening to the film. Transporting the viewers from the silence of an overgrown Time Square, to the fearful screams of people trying to be evacuated, and then back again, help to emphasise not only the loneliness suffered by Neville, but also how the once great city has been reduced to silence by mother nature.

With Lord of the Rings cinematographer Andre Lesnie on board, there's little doubt that the New York in which the film is set, looks phenomenal. Giving the city back to nature, with Central Park now a jungle, and the lion replacing the yellow cab as the king of the city, helps show the weak grip man has over nature. Lesnie effectively mixes CGI New York, with real New York, having closed off city blocks for hours on end to get the look of the film perfect. The evacuation scene at Brooklyn Bridge, which cost $5 million dollars to film, also looks fantastic.

Sadly, the quality of the scenery has not been replicated in the vampires. Or are the zombies? For argument's sake, let's just call them zompires. The decision by director Lawrence to replace the made-up actors with CGI characters has been one of the major failing of this film. The realism that this mutation could actually happen is missing through the use of the CGI characters, and they don't feel threatening at all. Instead, they look like a cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the albino monk from The Da Vinci Code. As a result, all tension and suspense which you should feel when you see the sun setting just isn't there.

Along with this, the film also seems to lose its way in the third act. When Neville makes contact with another survivor, he refuses to believe that other people actually survived, which begs the question as to why he was developing the vaccine in the first place. And then God comes into play and everything starts to get very messy, with the main message appearing to be that humans should not be messing with nature, but should leave everything in the hands of God.

Despite a fantastic performance from Smith and stunning scenery, what could have been a tense and terrifying sci-fi thriller, losses all suspense due to some of the worst CGI creatures seen in years. Oh, and just be thankful Lawrence didn't opt for the alternate ending, or it would be getting two stars (see Wikipedia for details)

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Rating: - Dissapointing
I hate to say this, but this film was a HUGE let down. It was almost like watching a different film to that advertised in the trailer! Will Smith is an excellent actor and did well given the strange story, but it's one i really wish i'd given a miss.