Good but not great, fine but not okay.

Rating: 3/10 (27 December 2007)

Francis Lawrence's second movie feature, his first major being the excellent supernatural Constantine (2005), is the contemporary version of the Richard Matheson 1956 sci-fi book "I am Legend". Eight years later it was the great Vincent Price that stared in the Ubaldo Ragona movie of The Last Man on Earth (1964), then came The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston, it is this 1971 movie that has deeper aspects of the way in which the Human Race see's itself as demigods and megalomaniacs' that pay the price of their vanity. It is here, in the 2007 version that we see a cure for cancer that sadly alters the DNA and within three years of the first cured, the human race has been wiped-out by what seems a reversal of a cure and mutating into a rabies like virus, turning the unlucky carriers into flesh eating tribes of the night.
We also see the virologist Robert Neville painfully adjusting to his isolation and with this his struggle to remain sane, we see no ringing of phones here, but his possible belief that there must be, and there has to be, someone somewhere, and if there were to be, then there must be some hope, but it is his reality that overcomes this delusion of faith and it is this reality that is slowly eroding his sanity, when all he has for company are the mannequins that act as constant reminder of a past life and his trusty German Sheppard, Sam. This this done in a moderate and with at least two single shots of delicate style, Francis Lawrence has our loner more action hero, with guns-a-blazing, than deep thinker of philosophical prowess. We know his plight and see his plight, but there is no need to delve into the abyss of understanding, this is a mistake of gigantic human proportions, we see that with all good intentions something went amiss. There are no wider consequence to articulate, and with this single vision in mind, it does not. But no matter what his forte, he is still very much aware of his alienation, his freedom of daylight in a world where he is trapped in the night. This is adequately done, but again, not too deep and focused on the plight of his destiny, just everyday survival and the monotony of existence that brings home his frustrations and desolation.
The sets are grand and the torn and neglected city of New York is the colossus in which our tiny and insignificant hero must reside, waiting for the day that his voice will one day be heard, waiting for that one day of hope of the human spirit to be reunited once more, and that he too shall find the cure to save his race, his mutated race, his nemesis; the dark-seekers. To once again atone for mans misadventure.
All well and good I hear you cry, but, this is now where I Am Legend stagnates into weak over indulgence that has our saviour fighting shadows of CGI imagery, the irony here is so transparent. We have the good Robert Neville supposedly the last man on earth, the Omega man, fighting his soulless, mindless enemies' , who, by a technicality, are not there in the physical being, but are computer generated foes that come to haunt him in his every waking hour. This is really a poor show, to being the, literally, only human on screen when he fights for his life with these mutants is this movies weakest link. It's too obvious, it's too tasteless, it's too inconsistent, it's too easy, it's CGI.
We have, once more, the grandiose actor Will Smith chosen as the leading man, and we have to admire his ability to transcend movie legend status. For his achievement and contribution to the Blockbuster genre is duly noted, but, I feel that it shall be the movie here and not his repertoire that shall make I Am Legend what it is; a simple thriller, weakly disguised as a sci-fi disaster movie of everyday survival, albeit in the empty streets of New York, that holds a sub-plot of human extinction.
For a more intriguing look into this concept there is the more enlightening Russian born Boris Sagal's (1917 - 1981) interpretation of Richard Matheson's cult classic novel; The Omega Man. A darker and socially conscience take on the demise of the human race and its trappings. If you like it big, bold and beautiful then it is the 2007 version that just might be what you're looking for. The choice is yours.