I Am Legend (2007) Review
Years later, this film still does a good job of portraying the lonely life of our culture’s perfect movie super soldier Will Smith.
director: Francis Lawrence
writers: Mark Protosevich & Akiva Goldsman
starring: Will Smith
genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-fi | Thriller
released: 14 December 2007 (USA)
Was requested to review this film and thought it would be interesting to see if much of my opinion would have changed after so many years and in fact it didn’t. I still appreciate it for the entertainment value it provides and Will Smith’s pure star power of holding the film together. However, it’s monsters/zombies and effects connected to them are the film’s real letdown and missed opportunity on a technical, but also narrative level.
story:
The cure for cancer is real but it also comes at the cost of human lives being turned into ravenous flesh-eating mutants (not zombies...) on a global scale.
At the forefront is U.S. colonel and virologist Robert Neville (Will Smith). He is stuck at ground zero of this pandemic in New York City to investigate and survive the mutant dystopia. By his side is his dog Max that gives some sanity and love amidst
the emptiness and horror the city has left. As time goes by not even that is enough for Robert to potentially go mad alone in the world and with his efforts of a cure being with no end in sight.
thoughts:
Can’t and won’t touch upon the remake aspects of this film as neither do I have any intricate knowledge on the source material or previous films. However, it’s very difficult not to touch upon its zombie elements and it’s release close to the peak of zombie entertainment. The film based on its promotional material didn’t try to label the creatures as zombies but like ‘28 Days Later’ before it, very difficult for audiences and for genre purposes to see it any different. As while they are cleardifferences it was still trying to take advantage of the same trend as was everyone else, it just was smarter by being different enough not to be bogged down in Romero comparisons till kingdom come as with ‘28 Days Later’. Although if we circle back this is also one of the films major problems, with its creatures/mutant’s practical effects or lack thereof.
The production chose to go the full CGI route with the mutants for the obvious production purposes of it being dealt with post in production. The problem with this is that the effects of 2007 don’t create individualistic and unique creatures but instead a pack/mob of CGI husks that when in clear view don’t hold up to the rest of realism and plausibility of plot the production tried to create. The only real moment where some level of admiration by can be made is when Colonel Neville captures a mutant female for experimentation. Not sure if in this case the CGI was better due to the lack of movement of the creature and maybe a CGI capture suit was used or a mix of effects (haven’t investigated further) but besides that, there isn’t any other mutant CGI moment in the film that is something to marvel at.
At that and if we go further on the mutant effects and the behavioral nature of the mutants, we enter dangerous territory of the film’s worst sin. To have the mutants behave in ways that cheapen the film in so many ways. Such as jumping out of a building and toward things in Jaguar like fashion or hitting vehicles as if they are flying torpedoes or how about jumping on poles as if the mutants were acrobats from ‘Cirque du Soleil’. This over-the-top mutant behavior didn’t have to go that far and only works in combination (as I’ll mention later in the review) if the mutant intelligence was further explored.
Moving past the zombie/mutant issue the film does have a lot of positives to it and most of it you can thank Will Smith for it. The man was in the 90s and 2000s the ultimate box office draw. They are those out there that aren’t fond of his acting but it’s difficult not to appreciate his commitment to a role, presence, and personality.
These little things do help for an actor to gain a connection with the audience and it’s no wonder he has been such a success for years on end. Here it’s no different with him carrying the film the whole way with no need for a supporting cast most of the time. He’s funny when he needs to, breaks down emotionally in a lot at key moments and sells the perfect legend character of solider, virologist and immune survivor the film needs him to be. He is an immaculate planner, and this is shown ine film with a lot of detail. From his home safety plan against the mutants at the end of the film or his traps around the city for experimenting on them from time to time, but naturally as mentioned he does breaks down as even the super solider is only human. With him falling prey to his own traps and hatred of the mutant virus as well.
Another small gripe that should be mentioned but is not huge is the ending. It feels a bit underwhelming not in narrative but in scope. It makes sense what happens but personally was left unsatisfied and wanting a little more. Don’t believe the film could have done much more given the narrative and its chosen conclusion, but thought worth mentioning, nonetheless. As well as the fact that the mutants in the film show a form of intelligence and evolution that is never truly explored. With them having a small pack mentality and alpha male leader mutant calling the shots.
verdict:
Years later, this film still does a good job of portraying the lonely life of our culture’s perfect movie super soldier Will Smith. And while it’s monster effects are not my cup of tea, the film itself is still entertaining despite of them and not a bad watch at home if given the time.
Personal Rating:
3.5 out of 5 Stars