Nowhere Near Legendary

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2015)

Sadly, yet again we get an adaptation of I Am Legend that fails to remain faithful to the book and instead panders to audience expectations and demands for happy endings. That's not to say this a bad movie, it's a perfectly decent way to waste a couple of hours. Then again, it's not a truly great movie either, and is definitely a missed opportunity.
The good parts start with the set up, which sees a scientist create a virus that is curing people from cancer. Unfortunately it mutates with time and ends up infecting almost everybody on earth, turning them into crazed sun-fearing maniacs. Will Smith seems to be one of the few who are immune and unaffected and spends his days trying to survive in a desolate New York, which looks great on screen with it's empty and litter strewn streets. Smith is largely excellent and his relationship with his faithful dog is a highlight of the film.
The bad is the CGI of the infected. They don't look remotely convincing, more akin to something from a video game and are a huge distraction every time they appear. They take you out of the experience because they look so awful.
Another major flaw is the decision to completely ignore the book's ending and have Smith discover he's not alone and there is a community of survivors he can join. Happy ending again. This is hugely annoying to fans of the book because the whole point of the title I Am Legend is the realization that he is indeed the last human on earth, and therefore has become an almost mythical creature in the eyes of the infected, who now possess the earth. The fact he survives and discovers others like him totally negates the title of the movie. It should have been called I Am Not Legend.