Smith Shines In An Understated Perfromance But Otherwise 'I Am Legend'...

Rating: Null/10 (6 March 2010)

'I Am Legend' sort of follows the same path as '28 Days Later' except this time with more money and less development. The set design is impressive and the sense of isolation and doom is well created though the CGI isn't really at its best. While the film is entertaining in parts, it severely lacks character and story development. There are just so many plot holes. The best parts were the scenes between Robert and his dog Sam. Thanks to Will Smith and Abbey and Kona (the two dogs who excellently play Samantha), we get a sense of how lonely Robert is in this world that has been abandoned by humans and his one and only friend is his dog. It would have been interesting to see how Robert further deals with his loneliness when he's completely isolated but instead this is cut short when, in a fit of rage, he goes to attack numerous zombies and this leads to meeting two other people. This last half hour is terribly rushed. Smith is quite restrained here, a welcome change from his usual over-the-top characters he's more recognized for. Even though the character could have been further defined in terms of writing, Smith makes the best of it. Alice Braga doesn't have much to do with her limited screen time. Think of this movie as 'Castaway' in a metropolitan island filled with photosensitive zombies. 'I Am Legend' can be watched for Will Smith's performance but otherwise it doesn't have much to offer.