Good by day, poor by night...........

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2007)

Being a big fan of the Richard Matheson Sci-Fi Horror book of the fifties, I wanted to really like this. Especially after hearing all the talk of it being an art house movie using the big visual effects to frame it. Unfortunately, this rumour was true for the first half of the film. There is much to like during these earlier scenes.
I enjoyed the solitary nature of Neville's existence and the relationship between him and his anthropomorphized companion- a dog named after his son. Its truly touching- and without the dog doing any silly Lassie heroics! The FX are used well to show the deserted concrete jungle, the rampant wildlife and nature slowly swallowing New York city.
So far so good. I could accept the tinkering with a few of the books various premises and the actual source of the virus that has decimated the planet to create the legions of vampiric survivors, who are ruled by their desire for blood above all else. However,there is too much messing around with the books better ideas; and tragically the heart and soul of Matheson's message. It should have changed the name of the character and title of the film much like the 70's version- "The Omega man"- did.
Unfortunately, this film slowly unraveled before my eyes. The decision by the makers to go with CGI vamps and dogs is a tradegy- not too mention a total waste of the budget. It totally messes with the very real feel to the set up and the belief in the man "monsters". I feel the director was worried it would end up looking more like 28 days later and its sequel- two films which also borrow heavily from the "I Am Legend" concept of Matheson's book. This reviewer would have preferred if it had been more like those films!
If these vamps were people once, then why not have people running about and then simply use a combination of physical FX with a little CGI to "twist" the visual appearance of them. The cartoony nature of the final half of the film destroys the credible first half efforts.
Will Smith acts really well for the most part, but as it goes on, little "Willism's"- the one star of the film basically saying " Its still me ya-all, Big Willie style" moments,namely the "trying to sing" moment and word for word act-a-long of Shrek.
The big deviations from the book- the comically unreal vamps cannot speak at all; and Neville's meeting with other survivors- cost this film dearly.
One of the reasons the book is so good is because it does not compromise the reality of a sole survivors story. The bleakness, solitude and slow self-destructing madness that would set in. The realization that they are no longer the freak- you have become the minority and are now "their" monster. The ending is a near on total cop-out! This being a big star vehicle, there has to be light at end of the tunnel. Not only that, but the phrase " I Am Legend", which was given a very specific and heartfelt explanation in the novella, is totally altered to fit this new ending!
If you want a comparison to this kind of Hollywood tinkering ,see the original Dutch version of "The Vanishing" and then the American remake to get an idea of what I mean!