I AM not impressed with most movies but I AM digging I AM Legend!

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2007)

I am not impressed with most movies but I am digging I am Legend!
I will first start out by mentioning in this review as I have said before that I am not impressed with the vast majority of movies cranked out by Hollywood these days. Its even more seldom when I find a movie that I truly enjoy
Some of the negative reviews are well taken and I can see why some people may not buy the movie but I will attempt to explain why I do.
I am legend is just the right balance of action/thriller/scary/thinker type movie. I was not expecting this when I walked into the theater. I was more expecting a scary movie with Will Smith walking around in the dark blowing creatures heads off for two hours I was glad to see that it did not do this.
I am Legend takes you directly into the action and the setup of the movie. I just remember thinking during the first three minutes of the movie that I was very thankful that we did not have to sit through a half hour rising-action of how the earth got infected, exactly what happened, and why he is the only one left. It is my opinion that these details were not simply omitted by the other as a point of oversight and neglect but I believe they were purposefully left out. Furthermore, they added to the post-movie think about it factor to the whole thing.
The sense of loneliness and isolation was awesome from the get go. From the talking to manikins to the re-run TV Will Smith does a great job of setting up the character in a desperate state but still retaining the Will Smith comedy factor, very well played.
The movie continued to keep me on the edge of my seat! I loved the scene when he chases the dog into the abandoned warehouse. Such awesome suspense and very cryptic images
All in all the movie left me with some great discussion points and questions to think about
1. Was the trap that Will Smith got caught in set by himself or the infected humans? (did he place the manikin there in a schizophrenic episode caused by extreme isolating or did they figure it out) 2. How smart are the infected humans? He says they had complete "social devolution" but they seem to still retain the ability to employ lesser animals (they had dogs on leashes in the trap scene). This implies that they still retained some human abilities. 3. Why did the infected humans want to kill him so bad? If they are so desperate for food why don't they just kill each other? Or the dogs they had? Clearly they did not just want to eat him. 4. How is this "cure the world" thing going to work? Can the creatures reproduce? They found a cure great, but how are they going to go about reclaiming the world? 5. Etc
All in all this was an excellent movie. I will for sure pay the $12 to see it again this time in IMAX format!