Crushing disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (12 December 2007)

I watched a preview last week in London and considering the calibre of the people involved I was looking forward to its big budget treatment in the knowledge that it would stray somewhat from the book. What I watched was a huge leap away from what made the story so interesting in the first place. Imagine blending Castaway with 28 day later whilst glancing through the pages of I am Legend as some kind of reference point so you can remember what it was you were trying to make in the first place. Even if you are willing to try and forget the novel this film fails in most respects. It runs away from the infected characters and turns them into one dimensional planks of CGI wood whom we have no interest in and who fail to be frightening, a task which they are forced to inhabit because they are so anonymous and boring. And thats the key word, it promises so much in the first third but it delivers very little, its boring and I could go on for pages. Really. But I will leave my post by saying I really enjoy horror films, I love the book, Will Smith does his best and New York looks great. But this film stinks for many reasons and the main reason is it really wants to be 28 days later and thats a shame because I am Legend is such a good story in its own right and it was ripe for a much better adaptation than this. Tragic.