Good Movie. Maybe I expected too much

Rating: 6/10 (15 December 2007)

***** CONTAINS A LOT OF SPOILERS, INCLUDING ENDING. PLEASE, ONLY READ AFTER YOU HAVE VIEWED THE FILM ****************************
I'll start by saying it was a good entertaining movie. However, I left this Will Smith outing feeling more Wild Wild West than Independence Day. Smith's acting was superb. He put a lot of emotion into his character and you really sympathized for him and how it must have felt to be the "last man alive". A lot of the scenes in this movie have been seen before (and not in previous versions of this particular story). There's some elements from 28 days later, Logan's Run, Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, The Road Warrior and a few other movies. People are making a big deal about viewers feeling sadder about Sam the dog's death than Smith's death. My interpretation (and why I too felt stronger about the dog's death scene) is that the dog's death was sudden, unexpected, heroic & heartbreaking (she died saving her master), and most importantly, the loss of his only friend and sole surviving "family" member. In other words, people aren't lamenting the loss of a dog, they're lamenting the loss of the last tiny piece of Will's past that he possessed. Let's face it, other than finding the cure, he basically had nothing left to live for after that. That's why he tried to deep-six himself on the dock after the death of his dog and why his ultimate death wasn't nearly as hard a blow. The CGI is good, if not a little cartoony at times, however the abilities of the creatures were baffling at best. They have degenerated to grunting savage beast walking on all fours, yet spontaneously they become smart enough to set elaborate rope traps, take out harmful light posts, and track Will to his residence???? Why not have one just become the "Brain" creature like in Gremlins 2, and have him speak in a real snobby English accent? Can't be any more ridiculous than thinking one of these things could rig a rope trap that would baffle a 10th degree Eagle Scout (or even a typical Marine). Speaking of their abilities, I also find the new super-zombie model completely unbelievable. When will horror writers learn that you can't make "sick" barbaric, mentally handicapped, virus-ravaged sickos faster, stronger, more agile, and sometimes smarter than even our healthiest athletes taking excellent care of their bodies? I honestly don't think the creatures added to the movie. The only time I truly enjoyed a confrontation was when Sam ran into the dark empty building. The ensuing search and ultimate confrontation sets the pace for his remaining creature interaction and also produces some good chills, at least until the above ridiculousness kicks in. I enjoyed the cinematography and feel of a completely empty New York City. I also enjoyed the flashbacks, that told us the preceding the story, in a "Lost" kind of way. So overall, I left the theater feeling uneven: Satisfied with Smith's acting, the amazing feat of making New York appear abandoned, and some of the creature confrontations (like when Sam ran into the dark abandoned building in broad daylight). The rest was ehhhh....so-so. Better luck next time Will and I'm still going to see your films because you ARE the man in H-Wood right now. I just wasn't really feeling this one as much as I really wanted to.