Entertaining enough, so give it a shot

Rating: 6/10 (25 April 2009)

There's nothing much wrong with I Am Legend despite the carping that it isn't as good as previous versions of the novel of the same title. It has to be said that Will Smith, who began his career as a lightweight is again rather good, and as he gets older and matures as an actor we might well be in for several more good performances. The outstanding feature of this version, courtesy of modern technology, of course, but then who cares, is its depiction of Manhattan as a wasteland in which only the birds, a herd of deer and a couple of lions are the sign of any significant life. How a herd of deer and lions end up in post-apocalypse Manhattan is not at all clear, but then, come one this is Hollywood. Hollywood can do these things. Next in the rather good things about I Am Legend comes Will Smith's performance which has to carry the film for almost all of its shortish running length, but this he does admirably. It is remarkable that just he, his dog and eventually an assortment of mutants star in the film for much of the time, but our interest keeps up and there is none of that quiet glancing at watches which is a sure indicator that not all is right with a film. When I Am Legend does finally develop and it becomes apparent that Will Smith is, after all, not the only human to have survived the onslaught of a badly virus which was supposed to eradicate cancer but instead eradicates 9/10s of the world's population, the film moves rather quickly to its ending, which - and I'm assuming the novel and its filmed versions all carried some kind of message - is one of hope. Along the way Smith copes with the mutants who have all been ravaged by the virus and who, for some reason, all develop superhuman strength, agility and aggression. We, the viewer, simply have to accept that, because no reason is given. At the end of the day, if one were to analyse I Am Legend, there is any number of incongruities. Where does the electricity supply come from, how come a woman and her son on their way from Brazil to Vermont detour via Manhattan, especially has we are earlier informed that all its bridges have been destroyed in an attempt to isolate New York and the virus. Then there is the matter of her and her young son's escape - just how was it possible to get out of a tunnel in Smith's lab after surviving an explosion, get off Manhattan despite the lack of bridges to the outside world and find a - rather smart - SUV with which to reach a colony of humans which has survived the virus and is re-establishing itself in Vermont? But what the hell. I've remarked elsewhere that there are two kinds of films: those which, for some reason, you like and which you will forgive many flaws, and those which, for some reason you take against and which you nitpick to death. Largely thanks to Will Smith and the rather splendid recreation of Manhattan as a wasteland, this film, for me, falls into the first category. You might feel that way as well.