Brilliant Will Smith and excellent visual effects and cinematography show how to make a dystopian thriller.

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2019)

Direction: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman
Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga
Based on: Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (1956)

Will Smith plays Dr. Neville, a government medical researcher who is fortunate to be immune to the virus that has broken out three years ago, but who is unfortunate enough to be stuck all alone in New York, tirelessly researching for a cure. Over time he has acquired the skills required to survive all alone in the Big Apple Forest. With a German Shepherd for company, he hunts deer in the morning, shops around, plays golf at a boat anchored at the harbor and seems to get the best of the city all to himself. At the same time, he is wary of other predators; a lion, from the zoo I imagine, and the virus-infected zombie-humans. They cannot stand sunlight, and hence stick to the dark areas and hunts at night. Dr. Neville has built his daily routine in such a way that his official business is done by dusk, and he's at his palatial home watching movies with his dog at night.
All that loneliness must get to him. Smith gives plenty of evidence of his acting abilities, which are easy to overlook because of his inherent likeability and charisma. He is utterly convincing as a survivalist, as a man who has a soldier's bearing wired into him, that his original role as a medical researcher seems to get overshadowed. It is perfectly plausible that Neville has gone a little bit insane, and the loss of his dog in the second act starts a chain of events that ends with a breathless third act, which while still excellent, didn't exactly measure up, but only because my hopes were so high from the quality I saw up until then.
Post-apocalyptic New York is not what I expected. It both was and was not a deserted wasteland. The stark contrast between the most modern, urban cityscape in the world and the forestedness in the aftermath of the virus is beautiful and unsettling. A lot of credit must go to the visual effects team for seamlessly blending the city with the post-apocalyptic landscape. I couldn't detect any trace of fakery in any of the city scenes, and combined with the cinematography, I am Legend provides an excellent showcase of how to portray an environment to set the tone of the movie. The only complaint I had was the zombies didn't look threatening or different once they were up close.
The story starts to fall apart slightly with the introduction of other players into the screenplay. Only Neville is sketched out fully, and the portrayal of zombies while doesn't fall short of standards, is not anything special either. The movie fails to combine the excellent characterization of Neville and the city with other elements and characters that should have organically moved the story forward. Instead, the additions were sudden and pushes the story into unnatural speed, disrupting the steady, comfortable flow with hard jerks forward. The movie experience falters here, on an otherwise brilliant depiction of a dystopian story.
Direction: 7
Screenplay: 7.5
Acting: 7.5
Cine'tography/VE: 8
Score: 7
Overall: 7.5
VERDICT: Will Smith excels as a lone man in this dystopian thriller, excellent visual effects and worth watching.