I Am Unsure, about "I Am Legend"

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2008)

This film really battles itself. There are so many pros and cons to it that it essentially balances it out to somewhere around the middle, which is why I've landed on a 6 out of 10.
I was a little underwhelmed by the resolution, so directly after my first viewing I was left with a poor taste in my mouth. At that point I was thinking, "Will was OK, nothing more than that." But I was distracted by the conclusion that I felt was rushed and contrived, so I temporarily forgot about some of Will's key moments.
Sam's death was pretty gut-wrenching; one of the more saddening animal deaths in movie history. Will did a nice job in the specific scene, as well as the following scene in the rental store. I felt for him the most during that particular sequence.
"Big Willie" also builds suspense nicely during the scene in which Sam runs into the darkness. We can feel his nerves breaking.
Another general positive is the fact that the zombies maintain their humanity without anyone realizing. Neville says that they are losing their human logic when the zombie runs into the light after him, but in reality, the lead zombie wants his woman back. We find out that the zombie Neville traps is a female, and then it makes sense that the male leader tries to enter the light to recover her.
Our natural inclination is to believe that the zombies simply want to infect Neville and the other two survivors near the end, but the more logical explanation is that the zombies want to recover the female that had been captured. Once again we see the lead male zombie leading the way through the glass. That's his girl in there...
But the negatives: (1) Like I've already mentioned: the resolution. The entire event's been predetermined? It's an act of God, and this woman with the butterfly tattoo that's just recently been introduced to us is the key to it all? We don't care about her yet on the screen; too much is riding on her. Also, how is that one vile of vaccine going to cure and restart all of civilization? That's enough of it?
(2) The CGI. It's pretty awful. I scare very easily and yet I was unphased by the zombies because they looked soooooo computerized. I mean, nothing even close to touching a realistic projection.
The deer are awful, and the lioness, etc.
(3) The melodramatic stuff like the butterfly woman's speech, and Neville's "light up the darkness" crap. Too cliché, too mushy-gushy-messy.
I dunno, I don't feel like writing anymore, but this film's a complete washout. Some good, lot of bad, but hey, can't take anything away from Will Smith -- the guy's a true megastar.