Should have been better/Nothing like the book

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2008)

One thing can be established off the bat. This movie is not at all like the book. It is essentially a different story from the book. So if you're a fan of the book and you plan to watch this movie, simply be advised it is not the same at all.
As a fan of the book, after watching this movie I felt a little cheated. My first impression was that it seemed like not a single one of the writers could have read the book. They honestly think it was appropriate to name this movie after it despite the fact that the only similarities with the book and the movie are the title, and the name Robert Neville. Now I'm not saying that a movie has to be just like the book it is based on, but it should try to stay true to the theme and plot as much as possible. Hollywood seems to have this habit of taking perfectly good stories and ruining them by compensating for story line with explosions and special effects.
From a critical point of view, the film was up and down. For about the first 30 minutes it is quite well done. You can also see that they really tried to capture the psychological strain that such a situation could subdue a person to. Will Smith gives a sincere performance, and quite frankly he was pretty much all that salvaged this movie. Most of the people who are knocking on this movie aren't giving him enough credit. Even if you don't like Will Smith at all, he was really the only consistently decent piece of this film....him and the dog. The special effects seemed a little cheap. On top of that, the Dark Seekers who were being portrayed through the special effects, seemed to develop abilities that somewhat defied the laws of physics. Not to mention that they just didn't look that good or believable. All I can say is that I'm sure I could name at least five movies off the top of my head that are much older than this one that have CGI literally ten times better.
(spoiler) One thing that really kinda gets me is that this movie was pushed and advertised with this "The last man on earth, is not alone." I'm sorry but what kind of garbage is that if 3/4 of the way through the movie a woman and her son come trotting along. Not to mention what happens at the end. I mean come on if you can't even stay true to your advertising scheme what credibility do you really have after that. Also I have a slight problem with the ending. It seems like the only reason Neville blows himself up along with the Dark Seekers is for dramatic effect. To solidify a justifiable reason for him being a legend.
I Am Legend, could have been a much better movie. They could have even kept the same basic plot if they had just added more story. More background story, more explanation, more...ANYTHING! Bottom line this movie just seemed like it had no effort as far as writing and story line go.
I must say though that I Am Legend is worth watching. It is an interesting story with a few visual treats. However, fans of the book should be prepared for something that likely will not live up to their expectations. As someone who was hoping for more than they got, I can say that unfortunately, I Am Legend, leaves no real legacy.