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Celebrating 3 years in business!
I Am Legend
Truly, I am disappointed.
Review by Dack

I Am Legend takes place in a post-apocalyptic 2010. After an attempted cure for cancer quickly turned into a viral plague, everyone – or nearly everyone – on earth was killed. Immune from the virus, Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) believes he is the last man alive and has dedicated all of his time to find a cure. He has been alone from any human contact for three years, but has found things to keep him company, or at least sane. His best friend is his dog, Sam, a character that you truly get attached to, more so then even humans in many other films. People that weren't killed by the virus were mutated into “dark seekers”, half human, half vampire sort of creatures who only come out at night to feed. Although the concept of the dark seekers is a very interesting one, it's the CGI that faults them and many other things in the film.

CGI is not a bad thing to use in a movie. When used correctly, it can transform a film into anything the filmmakers can possibly conceive. It's when it's used poorly that problems arise. The dark seekers are literally ruined by the CGI. They just aren't scary. Every time they appear, the thought of how fake they look occurs more than the feeling of being scared or interested. It's not just the fact that it would have been a better idea to use models and costumes to portray them, but even with the CGI decision, more time should have been spent making them look real. And it's not just the dark seekers that look fake, but also animals and the entire city. It's hard to be captivated by the empty city when it looks like something out of a 2003 computer animated movie.


CGI is one of the biggest faults of the movie, but it's definitely not the only fault. The first hour of the movie is good – there's no doubt about that. But, about an hour in, something happens that not only destroys the tone of the movie, but eventually actually destroys the movie. The ending of the movie was cliché and horrible. After a second act rush job, that spends more time on Shrek (Yes, Shrek) then it does on important plot points or characters, the movie boils down to a unwanted seemingly religious message. It doesn't make any sense why the ending of the book wasn't used that, with its depth, it is much superior.

Even though the movie is overflowing with problems, one problem is not the acting of Will Smith. Will Smith carries the entire movie on his shoulders, trying the best he can with the material given. It scares me to think what the movie would be like with a lesser actor.

There are a lot of comparisons to be made between I Am Legend and Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Because the original book came long before the movie, there is no way that I Am Legend ripped off 28 Days Later, but still, 28 Days Later feels like a better version from the ideas of the book. There is no doubt that one would receive more benefits from watching the deep and masterful 28 Days Later instead of I Am Legend.

I Am Legend was supposed to be the hit of the year – and while box office receipts might reflect this, the quality of the film certainly does not. Truly, I am disappointed.