It starts off pretty well, but then hobbles itself with its cliché baddies

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2007)

The latest cinematic adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel, and the first one to use its real name. The other two are The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, and The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston. Haven't seen the Price version yet, but The Omega Man is a sentimental favorite of mine. Cheesy and fun, loaded with the trappings of its time (1971). Lawrence's version is more serious-minded. He wants to make the audience feel what New York City would be like if you were the only person there. And he succeeds very well. It looks brilliant. Will Smith is capable as the only survivor in NYC. This is more of a horror flick than The Omega Man, and it works well as that. My biggest complaint, though, is that this film really rips off 28 Days Later. The mutants of I Am Legend are pretty much exactly the same as the rage infected people of that film, mostly mindless zombies who roar a lot and hunger for human blood (The Descent also came to mind a lot, especially with the aversion to light the baddies have). With the monsters seeming so much like they did in that one, and with the post-apocalyptic setting being pretty much exactly the same, it feels more like a remake of that than it does of The Omega Man. And frankly, 28 Days Later didn't need to be remade. Not so soon, anyway. Heck, the sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, did a much better job differentiating itself from its predecessor than this film does. Still, the film is quite entertaining, and one of the better blockbusters of the year.