grown-up movie

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2007)

It appears that in the last few years, Will Smith has grown up. It's done wonders for his acting. There are a few moments of levity in I Am Legend, but nothing like the non-stop stream of bad jokes that helped make Independence Day so atrocious. Mr. Smith has learned to bring gravity and vulnerability to a role when it is required. He expresses several states of mind here with skill.
But I think big-budget action/science-fiction movies have grown up too. After all, Will didn't write his own quips in his previous blockbuster movies, and his directors likely encouraged him to ham it up. The nineties are rife with movies that don't respect their audience's intelligence. The Fifth Element, Alien Resurrection, The Rock, and Armageddon are a few others which spring to mind, movies that undercut their own suspense by drowning it with idiotic jokes.
Anyway, this movie is an example of the darker breed of sci-fi film that has emerged since. Most of humanity has been wiped out. All that seems to be left is Will Smith, and some scary humanoid creatures. The post-apocalyptic world is vividly realized (there are weeds growing through cracks in the middle of downtown New York streets), and it truly feels like Smith is the last man on Earth. The scenes of suspense are intense. If you enjoy science fiction tinged with horror, I recommend this.