I Am Legendrated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence
Filmmaking: 4 out of 5 stars
Moral: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
I Am Legend is one of the most difficult films I have ever had to review. It took me a good 3 hours after I had seen it to decide if I actually liked it or despised it. This film has so many good aspects- the acting, the story, the set pieces- and so many bad aspects- the special effects, the script, the way the second act flowed.....You get the picture.
THE GOOD
Will Smith was remarkable. I was completely blown away by his sincere and amazing acting job. It seemed reminiscent of Cast Away, as Smith was alone for the first hour of the film with his dog. The emotion that Smith is able to convey ultimately won me over....it was superb.
The story was also really good. The idea is that viruses that have been genetically altered to fight cancer has now backfired and is killing 90% of mankind, infecting 9% percent and leaving a very small remnant of unaltered man. This creates a creepy, otherworldly setting for the story.
The set effects were amazing. Somehow, the filmmakers were able to recreate New York City as it would appear if everyone had died a few years previously. From the vegetation growing over classic monuments to a completely silent Times Square, these effects created the feel of the movie.
THE BAD
Apparently, halfway through production, the script was re-written to put more emphasis on the special effects. This is obvious, as halfway through the story, it seems as if the director suddenly started to focus more on the fight for survival/ revenge aspect of Will's character, rather than the inner battles he fought up to that point. This really ruined the second half for me, destroying a connection that could have carried the whole movie.
The special effects were also terrible. The lions that escaped from the zoo are not proportioned right and appear to be something from Jumanji. The virus infected people look stupid and cartoonish.
THE FINAL VERDICT
What can I say? I am Legend has the good, the bad and the ugly. Overall, I would recommend it, simply because of the brilliant acting job. The redemption of Will Smith's character at the end is amazing, as is his acting job. At one point, he says "There is no God! God didn't do this, we did!". This had me worried, but at the last possible moment, Robert Neville realizes that God has set all the previous events in motion for a reason, and that is to cure mankind. Check this one out.
Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler
1 comment:
I agree with you about the zoo animals, I thought they looked very fake. But I have to disagree about the latter half of the movie. I think that after his dog died it sent him over the edge, and therefore he decided that it would be better to kill himself getting his revenge than to live alone. Anyway, that was just my take on it. I didn't necessarily think that it was just a change of the screenwriting.
The biggest loophole to me was how the girl saved him from the sick people. So they hate light, right? Well he was in his car driving them down and his headlights were shining on them, it appeared to not hurt them. But then when they're about to get him and she drives up, she shines her headlights on them and it makes them all run away. That really made no sense to me.
Gretchen Emily Wolaver
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