Life Is Precious

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2008)

After viewing I Am Legend I have to say I am presently surprised. Will Smith plays Robert Neville, a scientist who is evidently the last human on Earth. As we learn in the opening scenes, humans have discovered a cure for cancer; but flash forward several years and it turns out that the supposed "cure" has either killed those to whom it was given or turned them into light-fearing, monsters called Dark Seekers. Spending his days searching for a cure and hunting in the abandoned streets of New York City, Robert is slowly becoming consumed by his isolation. But after he captures one of the Dark Seekers, he realizes that he has become part of a dangerous cat and mouse game with the monsters' implied leader (Dash Mihok). As the Dark Seekers close in on him, Robert races to find a cure in order to save humankind before his demise.
I think that the cinematographer Andrew Lesnie does a great job at portraying New York City as a deserted no mans land, keep in mind that this is the same cinematographer from the blockbuster King Kong. When you couple this with director Francis Lawrence's music video background you will find a lot of fast camera movements and a variety of camera angles. This is demonstrated when The infected dogs are on top of Neville's character during this fight scene, and the camera positions itself at a high angle in order to intensify suspense and convey Neville's vulnerability. In this scene the director uses this technique to get viewers on the edge of their seats while further illustrating the idea that life is precious and frail, as the dogs threaten to infect the last surviving human.
After reflecting on the movie's environment and characters I have noticed that I Am Legend bears a close resemblance to such movies as Lassie because of the compassion that the audience feels for Neville's dog Sam, as well as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow that closely resemble this movie when looking at the environment of these desolate and deserted cities in which the movies takes place.
In conclusion, I feel that director Francis Lawrence has done a great job at demonstrating the preciousness of life and how much we as humans crave a sense of companionship even if that means we have to resort to conversing with manikins.