Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga

Director: Francis Lawrence

Running time: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Horror, Action


REVIEW:

Richard Matheson’s apocalyptic novel had a gobsmacking concept: wipe out 90% of the world’s population and scatter some survivors here and then, inundate the place with blood-lusty night creatures. But that was more than a decade ago. His book had been suffering long enough in development hell before making its way to filmdom. Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to star first, set to walk around the empty New York like he bloody owned the place, and Ridley Scott was chosen to direct. Times change, and Arnie became Governor of LA and strutting around like he bloody owned the place. Johnny Depp enters, but his frolicking Sparrow had more important things to dwell into. Then comes Will “Man-in-Black” Smith. I AM LEGEND is finally set. Two years and a hundred-and-fifty million dollars later, it is out and ready to rock the roll. Of course, after being compared to Danny Boyle’s stirring 28 DAYS LATER (which is to say, far superior and more realistic), it’s inevitable for this film to endure sharp stares from critics; after all this is a Will Smith film, and fortunately he stares back at the critics with a performance that he can be proud of, which saves the entire film from darkness.

As a character-study film, it works like a pro. There’s an arthouse feel in I AM LEGEND as our hero Robert Neville, the only survivor known living amid the jungle of New York, where Times Square had grasses growing up to knee length, cars piled up, tall buildings casting long shadows, streets eerily abandoned, and stags and does hunt the city. It’s a stunning panorama embellished with haunting cinematography (after all this was shot by LORD OF THE RINGS cinematographer). There are near-unforgettable imagery – fallen bridge, spookily empty Times Square, Neville playing golf at the top of an army place. At times, LEGEND is a definitive character-driven cinema in its first act, steered by Will Smith’s laudable performance, probably his best performance in his entire career. To mention as well his dog, delivering one of the best animal performances ever to be seen in screen, working well sideways with Smith’s Neville, in the brink of insanity, considering dogs to be vegetarian and talking to mannequins. Nobody can blame him. He was the only man left to venture the world of emptiness.

As a horror flick, it’s scary as hell. When the sun retreats behind the horizon, the run begins. Hair-raising scenes slicks the screen; there are frights, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and just plain old-school scare-fest entertainment.

After 30-minute running time, the movie’s monsters are shown – this was where LEGEND lost its creative balance. Kudos to Francis Lawrence for bringing an edge to this horror-thriller-drama genre pastiche, his graduation from CONSTANTINE seemed to have put to considerable use, but sod to his CG-animated virus-infested rage-zombie virus. The whole film might have encrusted with breathtaking almost-impossible cinematography but the creatures are poorly made, as though they have forgotten it’s already the 21st century of films. The creatures so-called “Dark Seekers” are blood-sucking vampires in the original novel but reinvented in this film as virus-plagued creatures of the night, reduced to zombified Gollum-like creatures who attacked like orcs and climb walls like Spiderman does. It’s a horrible FX misstep.

One last grumble would have to be the dire conclusion. It’s blockbustery mixture with a great character study climaxes to something that turned out so obviously, which doesn’t deserve its brilliant first half.

VERDICT:

Half-and-half – first part, a subtle caricature of a character in the brink of desperation with a compelling performance by Will Smith; second part, a spook-show with flimsy, ridiculous-looking vampire-zombie breed of creatures that would have Nosferatu laughing. Good film, but could have been better.

RATING: B