Excellent movie, but...

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2007)

This is a great movie, don't get me wrong! Will Smith was perfect for this role, the story was strong and the street scenes were great. It's a very intense movie that will absolutely stay with us for years to come. Or longer. But it could have been better, so much better, richer and more memorable! Where are the scenes with the protagonist walking down the aisles of a supermarket or a Walmart, say, looking for food and supplies? Or browsing the shelves of some library, or a museum maybe or looking out over the city through a tall skyscraper window at sunset? How about picking out a new car or window shopping on the lonely streets? In other words, all the things people think of when they think of The Last Man On Earth. Because, as scary and lonely as it could be, there is still a part in every one of us that has thought about that kind of simplicity which draws us to these types of movies, especially as our lives grow ever more restrictive and frenetic. The kind of things that the best book of this genre, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, supposes. True, this book was not based on that novel, and someone will likely point out that this isn't a pastoral story, but wouldn't moments like these, those we all think about when we imagine that kind of scenario, have been just as relevant in I Am Legend?