Recurring Legend

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2008)

Here we have Will Smith in a role previously played by Vincent Price, and Charlton Heston. Heston's turn in Omega Man is the one I remember well and must compare to. He was a swaggering macho techie Great White Hunter type; a scientist who apparently had discovered the cure and inoculated himself prior to the world's population either succumbing to the virus or mutating to leprous light-sensitive zombies.
So, if we haven't seen Omega Man we really don't know why Smith's character is immune. This movie has several omissions of that nature, which is why I give it only 8 stars. I thought Smith carried the role extremely well. His acting is believable and provoking. He is macho, astute, and possibly going mad. In the scene where he is lured by a mannequin into a complex trap, we are left to wonder if the seemingly mindless mutants could have set it, or perhaps Neville (Smith) set it and they are simply using it to ambush him, or perhaps they merely mimic his techniques. It's an open question.
Now, much has been said of the poor CG. But I must wonder if it is the CG that is poor or the filmmakers are just trying to tell us that the mutation endows its victims with superhuman strength and agility. What is their nutritional source. One might think it blood, or even wood. The movie is not specific, or cannot seem to decide. But these mutants are quite menacing.
All in all, this was an enjoyable film. Smith's performance was great. Alice Braga is a mere shadow of her more famous aunt, but was adequate. And I give it second place honors in this franchise, after Omega Man. This is possibly because of Heston's several scenes mourning the loss of humanity in a darkened theater, watching Woodstock while sobbing for them and himself.