Warning: "I Am Legend" = cinematic abortion

Rating: 2/10 (14 December 2007)

I'm not entirely sure where to beginÂ… I've just got home from the midnight showing of I Am Legend, and I'm still livid after the hour drive... I know this may sound like a fan-boy rant to some, but what Hollywood (namely Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman (screenwriters) has done to the near brilliant work of Richard Matheson ought to be a criminal offense.
Don't be quick to assume my judgment is out of context. I understand that often a story must deviate from the original version when translated to the silver screen to either modernize it or "make it sell," but the end product of this movie is completely stripped of any of the original story's merit as a thought provoking analogy of societal relativity/evolution as it applies to the highly subjective notion of what makes something a monster.
I don't wish to ruin the plot of either the movie or that of the book for those that wish to see or read either respectively, but for those of you that have read the book and enjoyed it, you will most likely not enjoy this film as it is nothing more than highly diluted fluff that borrows far too much from 28 Days Later when the source material was more than adequate to support what could have been a great film. We've seen same scenario about 5 years ago, but that time it was an Anne Rice novel that underwent the same treatment.
Oh, and if you don't care about the story so much as wanting a cheap thrill from a "suspense" film, don't get your hopes up. It falls flat on its face there too. The CGI is reminiscent of what we've already grown sick of seeing from movies like Van Helsing and the like. Overall: 2 of 10, only due to the fact that we were spared from Will Smith's singing.