Two films in one; one is an interesting and intelligent thriller, the second is CGI-filled dreck

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2008)

I enjoyed this movie for the most part. Well, the first half at least. The first half was a neat little apocalyptic thriller. The shots of a deserted New York were effective and purveyed a sense of isolation for the main character. Will Smith was excellent as Robert Neville, one of the only people alive thanks to a virus which has wiped out the world and turned everyone into vicious, animal-like creatures who are out for blood. Smith's character is obviously losing his mind and having trouble coping with total isolation (well, apart from his dog friend). There are some tense scenes littered throughout which help keep you one the edge.
Then we enter the second half, a crappy horror cartoon with no scares and some incredibly lame CGI monsters and a clichéd ending. When the monsters finally come out I sunk in my seat, not only were they pure CGI, they were pure, BAD CGI. It was almost as if they ripped them straight from a cartoon or video game and dropped into the movie. It was embarrassing and it killed what could have been an excellent movie. Not only that, the second half felt incredibly rushed, some extended scenes would have been nice and would have helped keep up the tension. And when the end comes it is a "depressingly happy" ending that feels a bit too clichéd and comes as a disappointment.
The first half is a four star psychological thriller with a fine performance from Smith and some well shot scenes. The second half is a two star horror cartoon with appalling SFX. That averages the rating to a: 3/5