Unique heart-wrenching dystopian tale of a man that stayed behind with his dog to find a cure to a man-made disease. Original and overlooked

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2020)

A movie with subtle themes of loneliness, coping with death and a human-dog companionship that's as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking.
It's hard to believe the average reviews this movie received then and is currently receiving. I saw this movie when it came out and was too young for the more horrific aspects of it but remember liking and understanding it. When rewatching it, it now holds a special place in my heart thanks to its incredibly well-crafted setting and heartfelt companionship of the main characters.
Certainly the movie could use more backstory information that the actual showed in the movie but that just might be the reason why this movie stands out. Through little clips of TV news broadcasts, flashbacks and a few smart interactions we are fed backstory details of the status quo of the world and the infected after the spread of the virus.
When recounting the events and "action scenes" there are not many to consider althought the third act is filled with them. Nevertheless, this movie's first act that sets up the story, characters and setting is so well realised that a gigantic zombie stand-off Zombieland-style would have not fit the tone that the movie is building up. Themes of loneliness, coping with death and survival. Without spoiling anything, there are several events that impact the human-animal companionship that heavily suggest heart-wrenching themes and callbacks to the horrors of the virus. A companionship that represents the core of a story that's meant to tell and show us they are the last rational creatures left on earth.
The movie relies heavily in the "show don't tell" rule generally. It prefers to unravel the backstory of the infection and the character of Will Smith through flashbacks and video recordings in specific and suiting moments in the story. They don't feel out of place as they try to expand the information to push the story forward or show an emotional turmoil the main character is suffering at a given time; and not simply to have an exposition dump in the middle of the story.
Also, it realies in symbolism from which certain subtle themes can be identified like a religious sense of fate and destiny or simple callback symbolisms like butterflies or a certain public figure; add an extra layer to an overall generic post-apocalyptic zombie movie. It provides themes through which to learn the different personalities and traits of our characters.
One of the bigger downsides the movie may show is the sense of rivalry given to Will Smith's character and another I suppose "character" of the story. Should the alternative and therefore deleted scene in the end would be considered part of the story that rivalry would have been better developed. However, in the final theatrical version it isn't present leaving the movie with a story that is meant to romanticise the aforementioned animosity. It feels too personal in an otherwise gently developed setting without a "chosen one" trope to lead it. The best post-apocalyptic stories are the ones that feature a main character that wasn't chosen by god or destiny, is the everyday man/woman/child with flaws as anybody could have survive the apocalypse and there is no destiny only coincidences. Having the movie find a conclusion to ALL the current stroy problems in a span of days it's highly unusual and too fantastic for this sort of setting. Nevertheless, the reason for the present rivalry and romanticised aspects of this particular tale could be attributed to the homage payed to the original 1950s book which actually featured the last man on earth facing the leader of the vampiric zombies creatures... So yeah, I'd say this movie shouldn't be looked as an adaptation of that novel but only paying homage with names and the title itself.
IN CONCLUSION, this is an entertaining, at times thrilling, interestingly-crafted virus infecting tale lead by a man and his dog looking for a cure to an infection. It has some of the most heart breaking moments ever put to cinema only enhanced one of Will Smith's best performances. THe CGI is decent years later given the time the movie came out and isn't as bad as some put it. It was never meant to be a big blockbuster zombie apocalyptic movie filled with action and gory scenes but rather a video essay that could easily be a student film on the lonely survivor of the city of New York. The footage of the first act can easily be used in any sort of post-apocalyptic setting as it is well-realised and shot. If you disassociate it from the novel of its own name it is an original and unique take at the zombie genre. Subtle in its messages but you can still hear them loud and clear, we must let the light in to get rid of the darkness.