Great, but could have been Excellent

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2007)

They did a really good job building suspense. This was not a horror movie so-to-speak. But I would love for this team (Writer, Director, Producer, Will Smith) to do a pure horror movie. They are great! And the story was very captivating. I was really pulled into the struggle for Will's sanity and survival. And out of the chaos you started to see some intelligence and emotion in the zombie leader. Which gave you just a hint that they are not mindless brain eaters. That faint revelation I never forgot.
They pulled these emotions out of me, and it put me on the edge of my seat, because I was itching to see what they where going to do with them.
And that's when the horror began. Dr. Neville wasn't the only person that lost consciousness. The director, and everybody else on the set did as well. It was like a big $70 (I took the whole family) April fools joke. Letdown is too mild a word, worldwide catastrophe would be in bad taste. I think "Dereliction of Good Movie Ending Duty" seems more appropriate.
When Will stumbled upon a nest inside the vault. It was mind blowing. Cinematic gold I tell you. After they showed the zombie leader, they could've kept building upon that reveal and maybe showed more of how the zombies survive. Because Dr. Neville story hits a brick wall with no where to go. It's a great ride getting there, but what's left is the ending (that I hated).
I think that's what the director missed. By the time Neville proclaims "I can fix this" again, you really don't care. The book is great because the zombies are not mindless, they have purpose.
I'm left to wonder what could have been....