Legendary this movie is not

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2008)

Once again Will Smith is called upon to save the world. Only this time there isn't much of a world left to be saved. A virus has killed off pretty much everyone on the planet. Those who didn't die mutated into soulless bloodthirsty zombies. A lucky few were immune to the virus...but it seems they've all been killed by the zombies. Not so lucky after all I guess. In a deserted New York City where deer and lions roam free during the day and the zombies rule the night one man survives. That man is of course Will Smith. Well no, actually that man is military doctor Robert Neville, played by Smith. Because if the last man alive on planet Earth was actually Will Smith that would just be silly. But I digress. Anyhow Smith, er, Neville forages for food during the day and retreats to his heavily fortified home at night lest the zombies get him. Oh, and in his spare time, he tries to find a cure for the disease. A little late now one thinks but OK. If he can find some magic potion to turn hairless, mindless bloodsucking zombies back into ordinary human beings well then color me suitably impressed. So the movie slogs along with Neville and his dog wandering around Manhattan, having a few encounters with the zombie types and then going home. And then there are a few twists and all of a sudden the movie's over. Yeah, there's not a whole lot going on here.
This is by no means a lousy movie but you get the sense it could have been a lot better. There are certainly some nice pieces. The shots of a deserted, overgrown Manhattan are spectacular. Smith does a highly admirable job in essentially carrying the movie all by himself. There are a few brief flashback sequences thrown in but basically the whole movie is Smith and his dog. Really, we could have used some more of those flashbacks to flesh out the story which really is bare-bones. OK, we get the general idea of what happened but it would have probably helped the film if we saw more of what went on as the planet's population was dwindling from six billion people to one Will Smith. As it is we're thrown right into the post-apocalyptic aftermath and we never really get to know enough about Smith's character. Which is kind of important considering his character is essentially the movie's only character.
Another problem with the film is the look of the zombies. The filmmakers went overboard with the CGI and the creatures often come off looking more silly than menacing. And with their CGI-generated superhuman speed and strength it is hard to believe that these things were once ordinary people. And how is it that all these zombies come out looking exactly alike? Last I checked human beings don't all look alike and these things were human beings remember? That's one strange virus.
In the end this ends up being a reasonably entertaining but somewhat disappointing movie. All too often there's just nothing going on. The one character the movie has is barely developed at all and the story is sorely lacking some background information to flesh it out. But the movie does have its moments. And you stick with it expecting that one big moment at the end but in that regard you may be left feeling a little let down. The ending confuses more than it inspires. All of a sudden the movie's over and you're left saying, "That's it? Really?" Yeah, that's it. Kudos to Smith for pretty much singlehandedly dragging this movie to respectability but he can't quite bring it home. At least not as powerfully as you might like. Better luck in your next effort to save the world Will.