Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2.5/4
A 28 days later Remake
BryanFury - wrote on 01/07/2008
This was probably the second most anticipated movie last year, next to the golden compass. I really was looking forward to a legendary movie, but then I ended up seeing just a duplicate of 28 days later. The only difference is that I am Legend uses CG for its infected flesh eating zombies. And by using computer graphics it made the zombies look fake and less believable; which sets it apart from 28 days who has real people with prosthetic makeup. We all know realness is a big factor to this kind of genre, it is its bread and butter. Also I really did not feel the solitude of Will Smith, unlike the feel of Cillian Murphy in 28 days later which really gives you an empty feeling inside. Which we can blame the sound editing for giving it a dreary ambiance. Overall I think it’s a good …
Rating of
3/4
I Am Wasted?
randwood12 - wrote on 12/24/2007
The opening sequence of I Am Legend features some of the most breathtaking shots ever captured on the big screen. Unfortunately, the momentum that builds through the first three quarters of the movie slackens off in the film's conclusion, leaving viewers disappointed and unsatisfied. I Am Legend tells the horrifying tale of Dr. Robert Neville, a military scientist who is apparently the lone survivor of a terrible virus made to cure cancer. Though most of the world died directly, about 12 percent survived as subhuman mutants, unable to live in the sun but cannibalistic creatures on the hunt at night. Neville has a daily routine to keep his sanity, and at night he locks himself into his apartment. Meanwhile, he is frantically searching for a cure to the problem. Will Smith's performance as …
Rating of
3/4
It's A Legendary Idea Not Executed Well Enough
DB - wrote on 12/17/2007
There's no doubt in my mind that Will Smith did an excellent job in this role. With that said, everything else in this movie left me either wanting more or, wanting less. The premise and setting of this movie shows a lot of potential. Some sort of virus destroys civilization and there's this one scientist trying to right the wrongs of man. A great legendary plot, but the story told does not live up to the hype.
In an attempt to not spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it, let me just say that the I enjoyed the beginning of the movie a lot more than the end. I left the theatre wanting to know more of the back story, and the battles Will Smith's character faces in every day life. I felt there wasn't enough of that. The movie had more of a horror feel to it, when I wanted …
Rating of
3/4
It's Lonely at the Top of Smith's Game
Chris Kavan - wrote on 12/17/2007
Will Smith joins a small group of actors who can pretty much carry a movie alone. Smith gives his all in I Am Legend mixing loneliness, despair and a touch of insanity to make one of the most memorable characters of the year.
I Am Legend plays a bit like 28 Days Later meets Castaway, though I think the pace, aside from a rather abrupt ending, works better than both. My biggest qualm with the film is that it doesn't delve deep enough into the past. We get a few glimpses of the onset of the virus - but it's very brief and only from Smith's perspective. We get to what happens, but we don't really get a feel of how it spread or how Smith's home became a virtual Fort Knox.
Still, it's eerie seeing a New York deserted where lions hunt and crops grow. Smith wanders the city searching …
Rating of
3/4
Smith is Good, Though Not Legendary
Alex - wrote on 12/16/2007
A direct comparison can be made between I am Legend and 28 Days Later. The later is a better film, but I am Legend is still enjoyable and in fact may be a better balanced film. I liked it but it could have been a lot better.
Smith does a very good job and is admiral as the doctor who thinks he can create a cure. The first chase scene in the mustang was a great surprise. I give props to the sound team for firing this one up. Smith also develops an incredible relationship with his dog, who happens to be his only friend and only living thing he talks to. Smith appears to be alone in the universe.
From there though, he finds other humans and the story becomes rushed and much less interesting. Smith is no longer the only man left on earth and the search for the cure become …
Rating of
2/4
Fantastic start but ultimately falls short
newmans_own - wrote on 12/15/2007
This time around, Richard Matheson's novel has been fused with a 28 DAYS LATER-type bent, removing the vampiric creatures of the original and replacing them with frenzied, zombie-like beings. But although the film does take many brave turns and unusual choices, it ends up as nothing more than a really expensive slim horror movie.
The portions of Will Smith roaming through the deserted New York are stunningly rendered; the overgrown grass in Times Square, the slow decay of the empty skyscrapers, every bit of the city is shocking and downright eerie. How disappointing it is to learn, then, that director Francis Lawrence (2005’s CONSTANTINE) did not show this amount of care throughout the whole film. The most crippling flaw in the entire thing is the creatures themselves. Obviously …
