DVD : I Am Legend (2 Disc Special Edition) [2007]

Rating: - A Legendary Performance From Will Smith
I seem to have a habit of seeing a trailer on tv or online for a film and decide to go to the cinema to watch it and for whatever reason I hardly ever manage to go before its withdrawn. This was the same for I Am Legend i really wanted to go to the cinema for it but managed to miss it,after watching the DVD im gutted i missed out on the big screen experience the story is a fairly simple one in that scientists have managed to find a cure for cancer by altering the gene of a virus that kills cancer cells. Good stuff right? well no as the film starts with 3 years after the trials we see a vision of New York,not the bustling streets like you'd expect but derelict,over grown vegetation and general abandonment. Im not sure if its all CGI but the image looks pretty scary,and yes this has been done in 28 days later,but the film doesnt rip off any ideas from said film. Its hard to try and fit I Am.. into a specific genre as its not really horror even though the idea is scary plus its not really an action film either,yes there are a few fight scenes but its not all mindless gore and guns. Id say either rent or buy the DVD the perfomences are spot on and you really feel for Smiths character by the end scenes,i have seen the alternate ending and feel the original cinema is alot better but thats just personal preference with the 2 disk version you basically have 3 copies of the film though with 2 on disk and one as a digital copy. All in all its a great film that you shouldnt miss.

---

Rating: - The best Will Smith performance yet!
'I Am Legend' is the newest movie adaption of the classic Richard Matheson sci-fi/horror novel. Will Smith stars as the last man on Earth, Robert Neville - a military scientist who is trying to find a cure to a virus that has wiped out the whole of the human race. In the deserted streets of New York City and with only his dog, Sam as company, Neville tries to stay alive from the mutant victims of the plague, whilst also sending out radio messages to try and find any other survivors like himself who may be immune to the deadly virus.

I've not read the book and have never seen "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston, so am unable to compare this to either of them, or any of the other versions of this that are about, but I can say that this is without a doubt the best film that I have ever seen Will Smith in (and I'm a bit of a fan of his) and how he didn't win any awards for this exceptional performance is beyond me. He has learnt a lot of acting skills since his days back in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as this is one of the best performances I've seen in a long time, especially as for a majority of the film it is Smith on his own (and his dog). He really does capture the lonliness that the character is feeling and displays these emotions very believably. The city looks amazing too and is very eerie with the streets in the aftermath of chaos and now all overgrown and empty.

Although the night lurkers aren't too scary due to the CGI effects making them not look very real (I'd of preferred them to be actors in make-up), the film is very creepy in certain scenes and had me at the edge of my seat as it does get very tense indeed. It's not the most action packed film, but is still very exciting and very fast moving the whole way through, especially as it is only just over an hour and a half long it never has time to get boring.

I also watched this DVD on a player that upscales to 1080p and the picture quality is absolutely brilliant for standard definition and is one of the best I've seen on my player so far. The special features are ok with a pretty decent alternative ending but some un-impressive moving comics.

Overall this is one of the best films of 2007that I really regret not seeing at the cinema but the sound and picture quality are so good on this DVD, I didn;t mind watching it at home at all. I definitely highly recommend this to anyone looking for a decent post-apocolyptic sci-fi horror and any fans of Will Smith.

---

Rating: - fourth time lucky?
Ok, let's talk about the film first. I will admit first of all that I love the book this is based on, so my expectations were coloured by that. The story involves a man called robert neville who is the last man alive after a plague has turned people into vampire style creatures. He fights to stay alive whilst trying to find a cure for the plague.

Previously filmed in 1962 as the last man on earth starring vincent price, and in the 70's with charlton heston as the omega man. The first gets awful reviews and I've not seen it. the second is an okay action film but not a patch on the book. and it was due to be filmed in the 90's by ridley scott with arnold schwarzenegger in the lead but that version was cancelled when the budget got too high.

this latest version stars will smith and is directed by frances lawrence.

Good points:

stunning scenes of a deserted city

will smith turns in a good performance, foregoing his usual cool dude persona to show a guy suffering from crippling loneliness. this really comes out well in some scenes.

He has a lovely alsatian dog.

When seen in the dark, the vampire creatures are absolutely terrifying.

not so good points:

changes to the book. neville was an ordinary man there. making him a tough soldier and skilled virologist here rathers goes against the point of him being an ordinary man.

cgi. used for some of the wild animals in the city and the vampires it's very good cgi but it's far too obviously cgi. it doesn't convince [except in the dark]

the last quarter of the film. forgets a few subplots it's been setting up and goes off in a completely different direction that rather spoils the point of things.

The ending, though....is not bad. even though it's a bit too hollywood for my tastes.

However:

everyone else I know who saw the movie has never read the book. and they loved the film! so it may be worth judging for yourselves.

Does the dog survive, you ask? let's just say this is a not a movie to see if you want to come out smiling.

So, not bad but still not quite the film the book deserves. hope it gets done again. and right. and that it sticks to the ending of the book, which goes with the title far better.

This two disc edition comes with a nice lenticular cover. it has dozens upon dozens of language tracks and subtitles in lots of langugages. but that's only on disc one. that disc contains the movie, with direct scene access, and four animated comics. all these are stories set elsewhere in the world as the plague starts. The first is a bit too short for it's own good, the second starts well but rushes it's ending, the third is a tad inconsequential, but the fourth is an excellent horror story. All the animation in this is paintings being made to move rather than traditional animation. it's pretty effective.

the second disc has a copy of the film that you can legally download to a pc and keep forever. however it has a different ending to the cinema version. This ending starts well, being more in keeping with the book, but then rather spoils the point. but again, that's all a matter of opinion.

And fifty minutes worth of production features on the making of the film aren't even on this disc. there's just a weblink which allows you to access them on the internet. Dropped points for that as I'd prefer them to be on the disc.

but the one documentary on the second disc, about viruses, has to be seen. it's superb. running for almost twenty minutes it's fascinating, you'll learn a lot from it about viruses and how they work [such as how hiv got started] and it's downright scary as well!

an okay film. a dvd package that could be slightly better.

---

Rating: - NOT 28 Days Later Redux!! An Intelligent Study Of Loneliness..
This surprised me! Id seen an awful lot of negative press for this film so i didnt have the highest hopes. I was expecting an american take on 28 days and this film is nothing of the sort. Yes there are action setpieces and theres lots of atmospheric location but this film centre's on a stunning performance from Will Smith. I never thought that he could have carried (almost singlehandedly)this film as well as this - acting of real depth & emotion - and not one line of 'Bad Boys' style dialogue!!! Couldnt be more different than previous scifi offerings, Men In Black & Independence Day. This is not a popcorn movie by any means! This films central topics are isolation, loneliness & the inherited need for human contact
Much has been said about the Mutated Plague Victims & the CGI effects used to render them - well ive seen a LOT worse. There are a few shots (in particular when they are seen running in packs) where the movements are a little 'off' but generally they work well especially in close up ie skin tone etc. Id best describe them as physiologically similiar to the Reapers as seen in Blade 2. Pale, hairless & emaciated with the same wide open mouth type scream (a bit like the monster in Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy video). They move fast, VERY fast, mostly in packs ala 28 Days but they are different from those films.
One thing that isnt here is gore - theres no flesh eating or eye gouging here. There is action but not at the brutal level of Danny Boyle's films, Theres more blood & guts in the Romero films but this doesnt impact the film as its more about mood and short,sharply executed bursts of action than gleaming entrails. There are also a pack of mutant feral dogs that are a highlight although only seen briefly in the movies most tense setpiece
Some scenes depicting crowds panicking, civil disturbance & National Guard deployments kind of reminded me of War Of The Worlds (2005) & Cloverfield. The New York locations, both before The Plague & 3 years after in which the film is set are both vivid & disturbing. One area where the CGI has been highly succesful is enhancing the decay of Manhattan's post-apocalyptic Avenues & Skylines. Director Francis Lawrence effectiveley recalls the opening scenes of the 70's Omega Man adaptation starring the late, great Charlton Heston (Classic film)
Very good cinematography & editing too. The film looks fantastic.
I loved the alternate (more optimistic) ending to be found here on Disc 2 & isnt it great when an alternate ending is intergrated seamlessly into a complete version of the film instead of tacked on as a stand alone 10 minutes hidden in the deleted scenes sub menu?!! Top marks here.
Theres also a very interesting & informative documentary detailing the science of Viralogy & its relation to this film to be found on Disc 2.
Disc 1 offers little bar the theatrical cut but both discs offer superb transfers
WARNING:(SPOILER) IF YOU ARE A DOG LOVER, THERE IS ONE SCENE THATS A BIT OF A LUMP IN THE THROAT (you can see it coming a mile off but its still very sad and Smith really tugs at the heartstrings - if youve seen the Fly 2 you will know how it goes)

---

Rating: - A fantastic film
See this film - It's the best 2 hrs I've spent watching a film in a long time. How someone rated it 1 star is totally beyond me. Maybe they didn't understand the subject matter????

I'm not going to comment on plot because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but I can say that it had the balance between suspense and action just right.

Watch it - it's great entertainment and will have you talking about it with others.