A great effort that doesn't quite hit the spot...

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2007)

I have to say, I had been looking forward to this film all year, so it is with quite some disappointment that I say that it didn't really work as well as I had hoped.
Don't get me wrong, it is still a good movie, and worth watching, but there are a number of things that don't work about it.
Firstly the good points, though. Will Smith is pretty darned good as Robert Neville, the title character and gives a solid performance as the lonely, slightly "lost" last man on Earth. Likewise his sole companion, a German Shepherd dog, is very much a character in its own right which, as it turns out later, is exactly what the writers intended - that, like Neville, you get attached to it. The visuals of an abandoned Manhattan are extremely well done and the sense of emptiness is quite convincingly portrayed. So....all good so far.
But now the less good parts. Firstly, the over-reliance on CGI. I'm not spoiling the film to tell anyone that, in fact, Neville is not alone in Manhattan. But the overuse of CGI to portray the "creatures" does spoil things, I'm afraid. Whats more, I don't see why they had to go to such lengths to do this to what are - essentially - humans gone mad. I'm sure a far more convincing effect could be had with simple make-up effects. Of course, the CGI does allow them to show the apparent superhuman abilities of the infected, which is another gripe I'll come back to later.
Although the creatures are the worst part of the film, another element that grates is (and my usual pet hate) the lack of intelligence on the part of the writers. We learn during the film that Neville is hunting the creatures (he has a map on which he crosses out buildings he has searched) and that the creatures have abnormally high body temperatures. Given the apparent military background of Neville wouldn't it make sense for him to employ some sort of thermal tracking in order to locate them? After all the city is completely devoid of any man-made heat sources other than the creatures and Neville himself? Or failing that, since he can apparently catch the creatures without too much trouble, why not simply put some kind of tracking device on (or in) the creature and then release it? Going back to the superhuman creatures - I really don't get where this comes from. Their body temperature, respiration, blood pressure etc. are all off the scale. What maintains this? What is it that allows them to be hit by a speeding car and get and run off unhurt? They climb like monkeys, run like cheetahs and are as strong as bears. All in a human body (albeit coated in CGI). What maintains this? Do they even eat? If so I would ask....what? There are no people apart from Neville, they don't appear to feast on each other and the animal life in the city hardly appears numerous enough to support them. Plus, with those metabolisms, they'd have to eat huge quantities to fuel themselves for each nights rampage.
In 28 Days Later, the infected eventually starved through lack of coherent meal plans. But in I Am Legend, we're three years down the road from when the infection took place. How are they surviving? It's things like these that really annoy me about movies. I know, I shouldn't think that deeply about what is, essentially, a popcorn movie. But these inconsistencies just glare out at me from the screen.
However, the bottom line...
Leaving aside the CGI and the illogical writing I Am Legend is quite a good movie. It was rather short at 90 minutes. I think there's probably quite a good mini-series in this franchise if anyone was brave enough to take up the challenge, but I doubt it will happen.
But...If I was offered a choice between I Am Legend and 28 Days Later, I would choose the latter simply because it doesn't insult my intelligence quite as much.
EDIT: After some time to reflect I think the movie has grown on me some more. I do recommend watching the alternate ending version on the DVD which, to me, completely switches the roles that Neville and the creatures play and is altogether far more satisfying a conclusion than the original.