"I am...pitiful"

Rating: 3/10 (23 June 2008)

What a mishmash of nonsense. Any of these people raving (like then zombies?) about this absolute piece of garbage ever seen a sci-fi flick before? Omega Man? Last man on earth? Anything? Vincent Price was amusing as the Last Man on Earth and the movie had a wonderful macabre sense to it. Heston was Heston (in Omega Man)... good fighting evil, as only Heston could do, vampires trying to wrench that gun out of his hand (and crosses too). They were survivors, each in his own way.
Poor Will Smith's character, Neville, is just plain stupid, and he's supposed to be a brilliant scientist. Have you ever known a brilliant scientist? I have. They aren't dumb. They wouldn't go racing up and down deserted streets at 80 miles an hour in a sports car because they would be afraid something bad might happen... and then who would help? If he wanted to shoot some game for dinner, surely a stroll in Central Park would yield something.
The first major flaw was the death of Sam, his only companion. I knew it would happen. Poor writers always create a bond between man and animal and then kill off the animal to create pathos. But their act of scribbling only created bathos and my desire to turn of the set. You see, they knew they could get away with killing off a "mere" German shepherd. If they had given him a child to care for and to nurture, and then slaughtered it off, the audience might have revolted. But a dog? Oh well... for most. Not me. It created instant enmity. I struggled on to see how much worse it would get. I wasn't disappointed:
Anime monsters to create the illusion that Neville is in the battle of his life with video games. Ugh.
But then, comic relief... unintentional. A heroine arrives (you knew she would. That's why they killed off the poor dog.) She's heard his pleading broadcasts and has made a detour on her way to Vermont to see the Big Apple... the scribblers fail to tell us how she accomplished that feat in a mere car since all the bridges have been blown, but hey, if you've made it this far into this piece of utter nonsense, why start thinking now?
She saves Neville's life, somehow. That's also unclear and inspires him to "continue his work"... you know saving mankind with a cure for anime monsterism...that's the mankind of which he thinks he a party of one.
Then there's the attack on the house, where infected humans (read animes) are shown to have developed super human powers (maybe they don't want to be cured... all they have to do is stay out of the sun and they are all Supermen.) Will of course, sacrifices himself in a blaze of glory... too bad they couldn't bring back the dog.
And Anna of two days goes on her merry way to Vermont, magic potion to cure the world... all ten people... with her. She traverses the waters surrounding Manhattan in her Hop mobile once again, I guess.
I'm a very demanding person, I know. I require a plot that makes sense. With writers like Protosevich and Goldsman you're SOL. No one could write this badly and have any talent. But I suppose we will be subjected to their tripe again since the movie was a hit... well, others may be... not I. I really can't stand anything this stupidly contrived. The only reviewers who liked the movie were New Yorkers and those who love NYC who marveled at the opening shots of weeds in the streets of NYC. It takes a lot more than that to get my admiration!