Stops short when it needs to get going

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2007)

This is one sad movie, but not because it deals with the end of the world, not in the least. It's practically tragic because for every good thing it gives, it takes in kind, and then some.
Look at the setup, which even starts off with a convincing visit by Emma Thompson. Apparently in this remake of the original novel a cure for cancer goes haywire, killing most of the world's population, leaving almost no survivors and turning most of the few that don't die off reduced to freakish zombie-like creatures that lurk in the dark and have a severe case of the angst.
Enter Colonel Neville, done by Will Smith. This guy's not exactly the everyman, but Smith's powerful depiction of him makes forgiving his all-capable bio a breeze. Neville, a military doctor and scientist, was part of the team possibly working on an antidote, but it is suggested he was also originally part of the problem.
Anyway, three years post-apocalypse, and Neville has Manhattan all to himself and his likable dog Sam (keep your eyes peeled for a canine twist later in the movie). The two roam about and even get DVD's at the local video store as viewers are introduced with care to the routine the pair have, based around Neville's impressive fortress.
Excellent setup overall as we said, made all the better thanks to Francis Lawrence's competent direction. There's some nice touches like Neville watching recorded TV to keep in touch with reality, a huge Superman/Batman poster basically telling us a crossover movie's coming for Xmas 2009 (when the world ended in this film), and Smith's overall very strong narration. He's not a reliable recounter, though, suffering from isolation fatigue and gradually losing his grip on what's real. Plus, backstory is given via well made flashbacks, although some of those are overly sentimental.
All of these are good points to keep in mind, as is the one really scary scene, but they're all gone when the bad starts rolling in.
First off, this flick has the worst CGI ever in a big budget production. I mean, projects with a tenth the money have done a hundred times better. We've seen original Xbox games with better graphics. The people responsible for drawing and animating I Am Legend's action visuals need to take a moment.
This applies mostly to Neville's protagonists, what used to be the brotherhood in the Heston incarnation. These guys are now brainless, raging hostiles straight out of 2004 Dawn of the Dead, only the older movie used actual extras whereas this one opts for painfully fake and amateurish pixilated varieties. This could have so easily been avoided: what's so hard about finding a couple hundred people to run around screaming? It's not like they didn't have the moola.
Certainly, most of the backdrops look good, in this area the graphics artists did well working their magic on depicting a de-populated NYC. But the pathetic action bits are simply inexcusable since by this juncture EVERYONE knows better.
Additionally, I Am Legend, for all its great setup and good direction work, falters towards the end with an overly rushed conclusion and a too-convenient ending, albeit one that's nice to believe possible.
This is why it's all so sad. Smith likely feels the same, having obviously given this project his best, which is quite good indeed. I Am Legend should be remade, which is probably exactly what's going to happen. In fact, you can almost tell where they cut out the juicy bits to warrant an R rated home video release later on, this time hopefully with real action extras rather than lame "virtual actors".
For I Am Legend a commercial rehash won't necessarily be a bad thing, as it stands it still has lots of story to tell.