Sombre, chillingly effective sci-fi

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2008)

With a chaotic history (originally bandied about as a Ridley Scott/Arnold Schwarzenegger collaboration and later a Michael Bay film) and itself another incarnation of author Richard Matheson's classic science-fiction novel, one would hardly have been surprised to see I am Legend join the ranks of once promising but ultimately diluted science-fiction melded into vomit-inducing video game spin-offs. Thankfully, director Francis Lawrence and his film-making team attacked their subject matter with a mature and distinguished outlook, taking what could have easily become routine horror tripe and instead crafting a haunting, disconcerting portrait of a heroic man's steadily fracturing psyche whilst living in the shadow of a crumbling city.
Director Lawrence demonstrates a superlative grasp on generating tension and suspense, making disconcertingly good use out of darkness and silence to craft a genuinely frightening atmosphere almost unseen in the majority of the film's hyper-kinetic video game spin-off contemporaries. The consistently palpable sense of tension and unease throughout is particularly gripping, as Lawrence resists the temptation to fall back upon typical, contrived scares and instead opts for a quieter, more unnerving tone, and the film is all the more effective as consequence. Unfortunately, the source of such fear proves to be disappointingly weak, as the computer generated "infected" creatures prove to be far too poorly animated to be taken seriously. Where the use of actual live action actors with makeup would likely have been far more satisfying, instead the film presents its audience with computer generated howling monsters which would hardly look out of place in any early 2000s console game. Lawrence makes far more frightening use out of the unseen than the seen, as most blisteringly tense sequences end on a sour note with such poorly conceived antagonists.
The script overall is a deceptively clever one, rising above the ranks of mindless monster horror gorefests the film will inevitably draw comparisons to. But I am Legend proves to be far too reflective and clever to fall prey to such trappings, and instead the action sequences are far and between (though blisteringly intense, making them all the more effective in their sparsity), while the film for the most part is content to focus on protagonist Robert Neville, steadily losing his mind and his purpose. And while the concept of Neville staying sane in complete isolation for so long may strain credulity, such complaints are scarcely enough to dampen the perverse fascination and enjoyment provoked by his situation, as the monotony, loneliness, hopelessness and constant sense of threat of Neville's life are believably conveyed, as his precariously designed life gradually unwinds around him.
The expansive shots of vacant New York are tremendously powerful and moving, and the film practically drips with fatalism and hopelessness (flashback sequences detailing a chaotic mass evacuation of New York are particularly poignant and chilling when intercut with the bleak future). As such, it is all the more disappointing when near its latter half the film descends into more conventional and familiar horror action ground, as its conventional culmination feels like a letdown in a film which begins in such fresh, uncommonly clever and captivating territory.
The concept of a film being carried by essentially a single actor would normally prove a daunting prospect, but the tremendously charismatic Will Smith proves easily up to the challenge. Deprived of the opportunity for his typical "Will Smith" humour (though certain sly comedic moments do make their way in), Smith delivers an enormously engaging and often tragic and poignant performance as Robert Neville, sole survivor of the virus desperately attempting to find a cure. With only a dog, several mannequins and the occasional mutated creature sharing the screen with him, Smith's performance is easily worth a viewing in itself, providing sufficient emotional heart to keep the film aloft. The supporting cast are less laudable, as Alice Braga delivers a disappointingly flat performance as a fellow survivor, and Salli Richardson fails to make much of a mark as Smith's former wife, shown in frenzied flashback sequences, which also feature an adorable role from Smith's daughter Willow. Emma Thompson however makes a memorable impact in a cameo role as the creator of the seemingly miraculous virus, and one can only wish that her character was developed further throughout the narrative.
Unusually reflective and subdued, yet with sufficient horror action to entertain its demographic, I am Legend surpasses the vast majority of its predecessors for refusing to dumb down its subject matter, and deliver a thoughtful, affecting portrait of a man in isolation as well as a gripping horror romp. While it may delve into cliché as the narrative develops, Lawrence's sturdy, unsettling directing and Smith's blistering performance are enough to raise the film's quality far above what it could have far too easily become in the hands of less talented craftsmen.
-8/10