Saturday, December 15, 2007

The "I am Legend" Legacy

I saw "I am Legend" at the first showing today in a packed theater. After seeing the CGI "vampires" [although they are never called that in the movie] in this trailer, I must admit I went in with a bit of trepidation. But, because the Richard Matheson novel is so strong, and because the previous two movies [The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man] based on the same novel worked on their own levels, I felt that Will Smith and crew could pull off a worthy addition to the "I am Legend" legacy. So did he? Let's take a look:

The Good: The concept; Will Smith as Robert Neville, Sam; how the virus is created; taking the time needed to show Neville's isolation; Neville going in to save Sam; stumbling on the standing/sleeping "vampires"; snaring a vampire / being snared; Sam saving Neville; how the final scene tied into the title.

The Bad: Most complaints that I've read about the movie are gripes about the shift once the woman and her son arrive. While it's true that the feel of the movie changes, I think that it works because we now see just how much Neville has lost touch with reality. Pretty bold move if you ask me. Some of the CGI effects.

The Ugly: The vampires.

All-in-all I really enjoyed the movie much more than I thought I would going in. It not only will find a place in my dvd library, but adds nicely to the "I am Legend" legacy.


1 comment:

Rafael Kayanan said...

Just saw this Craig - I agree, it was better than I expected. What was cool from my POV was watching it in Times Square and walking out to a packed evening XMas crowd right after seeing the self same street desolated.