Simply Outstanding

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2008)

I wasn't originally planning to watch this film, but I promised my brother I would and couldn't get out of it. And I am so glad he got me to watch it, because it was just incredible.
***WARNING: CONTAINS LOTS OF SPOILERS*** Will Smith gives a stellar performance as Robert Neville, the only survivor in New York City after a viral cure for cancer gone wrong turns almost the entire world population into bloodthirsty creatures. With his loyal German Shepherd, Sam, as his only companion, we truly feel for Neville as he struggles to survive alone, while at the same time searching for a cure to this virus. Smith's portrayal of Neville's desperate attempts to hang on to his sanity despite the gut-wrenching fear and loneliness he's had to deal with for three years since the tragedy occurred is simply flawless. One scene in particular, when he's begging a mannequin in a video store to say "hello" to him, had me choking back tears.
All in all an amazing performance on Smith's part.
However, I think the ending of the movie has been underestimated. In most of the reviews I've read, the writers have expressed their extreme disappointment, saying that the ending was terrible and did not do the rest of the movie justice. Well, I must say I absolutely loved the ending. I found it to be incredibly thought-provoking, and is in my opinion what sets this film apart from all the other zombie movies out there.
When Neville is telling Anna about Bob Marley's idea that one can cure racism and hatred by injecting music and love into people's lives, and then later tells her that God didn't cause the problem, we did, it made me realize that maybe this movie isn't supposed to be centered on bloody battles between Neville and the creatures. It has a much deeper message.
While I couldn't quite figure out the symbolic meaning of the butterfly (when Marley says, "Look, daddy, it's a butterfly!", when the leader of the creatures is standing with the cracks in the glass spreading out on either side of him like butterfly wings, and the butterfly tattoo on Anna's neck), it really got to me when Neville was screaming at the creatures, telling them that he had a cure and that he could help them, but he simply couldn't get through to them. That's so much like people today, isn't it? All wrapped up in hate and hell-bent on causing suffering and destruction, and there are so many other people yelling out, loud and clear, that it needs to stop, but they just don't listen. There's that, and also people shaking off the blame for the problems we all deal with today, praying for solutions instead of working towards them.
While it had all the makings of an action-packed blood and gore thriller, it's this deeper message that truly makes it stand out from all the other virus-spreads-and-turns-everyone-into-monsters thrillers I've seen. Even though it had a hopeful ending, it was still realistic, and it gives us a perspective on what's going to happen if we continue to let the "virus" of hate spread.
My only complaint? The CGI was awful. I managed to ignore its poor quality during most of the film, but it was terribly distracting, especially at the beginning of the movie. But all in all, this was an amazing film, a definite must-see.