I Loved It

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2008)

Few films ever live up to their literary counterparts. I Am Legend directed by Francis Lawrence starring Will Smith is no exception and in this case the chasm between book and film is copious to say the absolute least. However, I was not displeased at all by the film that I thoroughly expected to abhor, in fact I loved it and after much contemplation of the plot-theme I begin to not only forgive the screenwriters the almost complete discard of most of the original story's finer elements in favor of more popular elements but admire the adherence to what is, I believe, Matheson's own requirement to allow Robert Neville to finally leave earth as a bona fide hero rather than the de facto explicit in the book. Hollywood and those kept by her celluloid er, now digitalcharms prefer action to introspection anyway and for the forty years filmmakers have been trying to figure out a way to tell this story on film that reflected the greatness of its original form and make it work for wider audiences (i.e, those who have never read the book), I have to applaud Lawrence's film, and Will Smith. I confess, I was more than disturbed at the prospect of Smith portraying a character as tragic and as profound as Robert Neville, but given the character changes for the film, the de jure hero status and Will Smith's graceful advance into maturity the film worked, for me at least.