Rating of
2/4
Fantastic start but ultimately falls short
newmans_own - wrote on 12/15/07
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 rendered completely through CGI, they never become truly terrifying because they never look real. It suffers when compared to recent films like 28 DAYS LATER, which clearly inspired the look of this film. Sure, when they jump out from around a corner screaming the audience is startled, but there are many more effective ways of scaring people.
That’s not to say there isn’t anything else to admire. Smith gives one of his better performances to date, and certainly the most focused. Gone is the grin-filled easygoing humor he displays in all his other films, a trait with often undercuts certain dramatic aspirations. The biggest laughs here are nothing more than amused chuckles and Smith really triumphs in the dramatic scenes. The slow-building paranoia, desperation and loneliness that seeps into his behavior is uncomfortable and sometimes painful to watch, in a good way. It seems odd to happen in a film like I AM LEGEND, but here Smith finally proves that he has what it takes to become a great dramatic actor.
**/****
Full review at http://newmanscorner.blogspot.com
