I Am Legend

The movie I Am Legend is based on the titular novel by Richard Matheson, who as you may or may not know is the premiere living sci-fi writer along with Ray Bradbury. Matheson’s book has been filmed twice before. Hundreds of years ago the films The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man did the novel some kind of justice. The latter in fact belongs in the category of true cult sci-fi films.
The newest spin on the last man on Earth theme fails on a couple of important levels while still delivering a modicum of genre entertainment. Will Smith finds himself alone in Manhattan in the year 2012, the inference being that a cure for cancer mutated into a deadly airborne pathogen that killed off the majority of the world’s population. I Am Legend find yet another way for Smith to phrase the words “Oh Hell No.” Here Smith utters oh hell a couple of times then yells no to express his dismay at being outmanned by mutant creatures – not really, but once human - who come out at night.
If you have no idea about the previous films and you think movies like 28 Days Later are cool, then this re-imagined I Am Legend should rock your boat. However, the way director Francis Lawrence (Constantine) plays the scenario the creatures have no voice, no leader, and no personality. Big mistake, just recall Anthony Zerbe in Omega Man, or even recently Danny Huston in 30 Days of Night. I Am Legend resembles nothing more than 30 Days of Night as opposed to the old school Omega Man. There’s also some questionable CGI effects, in particular a family of lions that seem to prance rather, ah, digitally.
Not to ignore I Am Legend’s good points, there are moments when the film feels like it may slide into a higher gear only to downshift into cliche. One such moment has Smith coming to terms with his only friend, his dog, as the Alsatian turns into a zombie dog. The moment has a Night of the Living Dead vibe that works because Lawrence keeps the camera on Smith’s face the entire time as he strangles the dog. Another George Romero reference has Smith capturing a zombie and strapping it in his lab to experiment on a cure, a scene right out of Day of the Dead. I Am Legend needed more scenes like that, some zombies you could identify with, and less CGI manipulation.
On another note is seems one of the filming locations, a residence near New York City’s Washington Square arch also pops up in another current Warner Brothers release, August Rush.