Entertaining Will Smith flick, but not as good as the book

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2007)

I Am Legend 2007, 101mins, 15 Director: Francis Lawrence Cast includes: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith, Dash Mihok
Written in 1954 Richard Matheson's I Am Legend is among my favourite books ever. The text is in novella format and yet along with Orwell's Animal Farm it never ceases to amaze me how potent and utterly brilliant the book is, within it's tiny format I Am Legend achieves more than the entire Harry Potter saga. It's been filmed thrice, during the 50's with Vincent Price in the lead and entitled The Last Man On Earth, twenty years later this time with Charlton Heston in the Omega Man and now in 2007 with Will Smith in the first production to maintain the sources name. Funnily for such a fan of the book this is the first adaptation I've seen, it's pleasing to see the pages brought so fluently to life on the silver screen, but in terms of book to movie transfers it's Lord Of The Rings light. The story for those unaware is that of Robert Neville (Will Smith) a brilliant Government scientist, and as of five years ago the last man on earth. The world has become thronged with vampire cum zombie monsters, a consequence of a virus that hit half a decade ago turning people into these rabid and senseless villains. They can only operate in dark and so during the day New York is Robert's playground, by night he's reduced to hiding in his sealed off house. Neville is trying desperately to find a cure and reverse the disease that has turned his fellow human sinto shadows of their former selves, but whilst he may be immune the monsters are keen to taste his blood. I Am Legend is directed by Constantine helmer Francis Lawrence, the man exhibits the same strengths he did in that picture, the visuals of New York he conjurs up are eerie yet awesome and he builds up a strong central character well. Given that the source is better and that on this occasion he's blessed with the ever watchable Smith instead of Keanu "forest" Reeves he still deserves a pat on the back for getting these elements so perfectly zoned. I can only do this review from the perspective of one who has read the text and so one of my biggest issues surrounds that, so if you're a Matheson virgin and intend to stay that way (why you would is beyond me...) bump the picture's rating up to 8/10. However there is one universal flaw and thats with the presentation of the infected, in a post 28 Days Later world these weird looking super goblins just aren't that scary and we don't really see enough of them to think otherwise. The CGI surrounding the creatures is by turns good and by turns bad. The deer we see Neville hunting in New York look great and one scene in a darkened warehouse features some fine use in terms of creating the zombies. In the better lit scenes however they aren't convincing enough, and the creature design is dubious to say the least. The film does have a fnatastic performance from Smith and in a later plot development Alice Braga. So far based on other performances this year I wouldn't hesitate to give Smith an Oscar nomination and whilst Braga isn't present for long enough she at least deserves hearty credit. The two carry the film superbly and if ever a category for "best performing animal" opens up Sam Nevilles dog deserves a look in. The connection between Dog and man is engaging and fantastic, this is one of the deviations from the book I thought worked well. Some of the other changes don't however feel as satisfying, the way in which Nevilles family perish (shown through flashback) is unconvincing and slightly clichéd and at times one feels to much is absent. In the book at least one villain is built up, here we get virtually nothing. The finale is also slightly altered, more upbeat but not in a senseless Hollywood way. The change feels fine on the big screen and is still far grimer than most endings within it's respective genre. The action is well done and there are some scenes that are pure action, others purely horror. The book doesn't contain many of these but in the end with a Will Smith Holiday movie they where going to be essential. In the end I enjoyed most of them and they complimented the fantastic cinematography well, but again there was more within the source material than big bangs and awe inspiring landscapes. In the end I Am Legend is an above average film and given the recent output like Eragon and The Dark Is Rising it's a way above average page to screen adaptation. However one feels that Cinematography, Will Smith and Alice Braga to the side the film would be a lot weaker which suggested heavily that the material has been slightly mishandled. It's more than strong enough to carry itself yet here it feels a little patchy. The movie is good entertainment and features a great central performance but it isn't legend. Richard Matheson's book on the other hand most certainly is.