Dramatically Powerful

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2007)

Pardon the pun, but I usually avoid remakes like the Plague.They always seem so cynically predictable: every 20 or 30 years (or less) a studio decides to milk a cash cow again. Never mind that the original was perfectly good, and stands up to the test of time.
"The Omega Man" way back in 1971 was a perfectly good take on Richard Matheson's novel. Indeed, this film is partially based on both the book, and the Omega Man screenplay. But, scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") elevates the material, as it were, and delivers a screenplay to Will Smith and director Francis Lawrence of searing dramatic intensity and believability.
This is Will Smith's finest work to date. He brings an emotional range to his acting that I thought only Russel Crowe could deliver. And Will carries this movie for a full three quarters with only a dog and CG animation to react against. An astounding performance, but one that likely won't get recognized, because this is nominally "science fiction".
As Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica has shown us, SF can deliver the best drama there is, and "Legend" joins that elite club.
I also want to comment on the ending, the finale, the point where most films, especially American films, fail to deliver. Not "Legend": the climax is satisfying and dramatically appropriate.
Directors like Steven Spielberg, who's "War of the Worlds" was just the sort of mindless, paint by numbers film that I abhor, should look at this film and see how important it is for the creators to care about what they are doing, rather than cynically engaging in cinema as market survey.
"I Am Legend" is one of the best films of the year.