Two thirds of it are absolutely brilliant

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2007)

It's quite interesting how the UK reviews of "I Am Legend" have panned out. The general gist seems to be that most reviewers really liked the first two thirds, but felt that all of the good work was undone by a rushed and unbalanced final third. Broadly I think I would agree with that. The first two thirds of "I Am Legend" are absolute genius, not only because of the brilliant realisation of an abandoned and devastatingly empty New York City, but because of a truly fine performance by Will Smith as Robert Neville.
3 years after a man made disease devastated the human race, Robert Neville is the last man left alive in New York City. He is haunted by dreams of his family, the way the crisis escalated out of control and the responsibility to find a 'fix'. Neville's isolation, depression and slowly building psychosis are a real thing. When night comes, Neville hides away. There is terror and there is dread, because there are things in the dark...
"I Am Legend" is a mostly great film, with a consistently great performance by Will Smith. Head and shoulders above what is the norm for a Christmas blockbuster. It is true that the ending dips into pretty predictable, CGI heavy, action heroics, but if you like that kind of thing, you will enjoy it. I just think that the ending somewhat dissipated the paranoid atmosphere built up earlier in the film. I think that the film deserved a better ending. The ending of the book would have been good. A new world born from the old.
Who am I kidding? No Hollywood studio would have gone for that ending. Way too bleak.