Will The Remakes Ever Cease?

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2007)

Oh look, another remake. Wow. Woop. What fun.
Do I sound overly cynical? Maybe I am. But can't we see a few more original films on the big screen rather than mulling over the same ones year after year? Is that asking too much? Perhaps it is.
The post-apocalyptic science fiction genre has been done to death (THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, NIGHT OF THE COMET, DAWN OF THE DEAD, 28 DAYS LATER, OUTBREAK, THE QUIET EARTH). And here in I AM LEGEND, we get a remake of the Charlton Heston film THE OMEGA MAN. Growing up, I loved The Omega Man. I often wondered what it'd be like to be the last man on Earth; at least the last "normal" man on Earth. The genre wasn't yet tired in 1971 and I wasn't even into my teens. But since then not-just-a-small-number of similar cinematic films have come out, bombarding movie watchers with the same ol' theme over and over and over again (see my partial list above).
Will Smith (THE PURSUIT OF Happiness) takes on the lead role as Dr. Robert Neville, the seemingly sole survivor of a plague that has wiped out 99% of humanity, turning the remaining 1% into cannibalistic zombie-vampires who burn up if exposed to sunlight; they roam New York's desolate streets at night in search of fresh meat. A cure for cancer has sparked a new virus that started humanity's die-off, and these scenes are given frequent flashbacks during the movie. We also get to see Dr. Neville's responsibility for trying to find a cure via the military (whom he works for before everyone keels over).
With Dr. Neville is a trusty sidekick named Sam, a German Shepherd with acute senses. His canine abilities extend to detecting vampire-zombies, and to helping Neville battle the complete aloneness that rattles around his psyche. This is undoubtedly one of the strongest elements of the film. Watching Dr. Neville walk into a video rental store and speak to the mannequins he has set up is an honest portrayal that would hit any human who had only a dog to speak with.
SPOILER ALERT!!!! When Sam-the-Dog dies (or rather when Dr. Neville is forced to kill him), it is a blow too deep and the good doctor goes out to meet up and kill as many of the nightstalkers as he can before they kill him. That's when he meets up with two young people (an older sister and younger brother) who save Neville from himself and tell him of a fantasy safe zone somewhere in the hills of Vermont. Neville has to decide what to believe in as the monsters close in on his home and threaten not only himself, but his two new god-fearing humans. The ending is pretty weak but set up nicely in a visual way.
END SPOILER ALERT!!! Having hoisted such terrible news as "unoriginal" on I Am Legend, one cannot deny two key elements that make this film a positive experience. First is the extremely creepy feeling one gets when looking at a vacant New York City. The weeds growing up from cracks in the pavement. Wild deer migrating through empty car-riddled streets. Everywhere there's a vision of what once was human inhabitation and is now just a rotting shell. That was a painfully great set of scenes. Secondly is Will Smith. Similar to Tom Hanks' CASTAWAY, Smith carries the entire film and does so with effortless precision. The losses he experiences are tremendous, and Smith pulls us in and forces us to feel the pain of one man left alone for far too long. This is most evident when dealing with Sam-the-Dog and his encounters with a pretty mannequin that he starts to humanize in his mind.
Some might be able to wiggle past this film's unoriginality factor, and if they can, I applaud them. They probably enjoyed the movie (minus the ending) much better than I was able. But if you're like me, and desire something fresh in the cinema, you'll probably have similar feelings.