Apocalyptic Poetry

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2008)

In the past few years a handful of cineasts has tried in vain to put together a new adaptation of 'I Am Legend', the renowned Richard Matheson science-fiction novel dating from 1954 (the latest version came out quite some time ago, the 1971 Charlton Heston flick 'The Omega Man').
In the nineties, Ridley Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger were eager to begin on the project, but the costs shot up and the studio decided to pull the plug. And Michael Bay also didn't succeed - Thank God!- to drum up the required support.
Eventually, Warner Brothers gave director Francis Lawrence ('Constantine') and actor Will Smith the long anticipated green light, something that didn't exactly made me rapturous - all I can remember from 'Constantine' is Keanu Reeves' laughable performance while Smith's 'Independence Day', even though it's a guilty pleasure of mine, was a grade A example of poorly balanced use of special effects (too much) and a neglected script.
But what'd you know: 'I Am Legend', by the actor totally accurately defined as an 'artistic character drama disguised as a blockbuster' is pretty strong stuff. Smith is truly tremendous as Robert Neville, a scientist who as the only person on earth stayed immune from an evil virus. In the daytime he wonders the streets of the fully extinct Manhatton terribly alone - you could even call the the film a One-Act film - and in the nighttime he entrenches in his with food cans and sad souvenirs stuffed flat, where he begins to show alarming (and brilliantly acted) symptoms of pinching loneliness: the scene where Neville, as if under hypnosis, is dubbing 'Shrek' is downright creepy. Not to mention the heartbreaking 'please say hello to me' scene. The film clearly shows it has a backbone.
The images of the Manhattan re-won by nature (wild deers on Times Square!) look both hallucinating and unearthly beautiful. To end up with this effect - will our cities réally look like that in the future - as a director you need not only an astronomic budget and a large digital magic box but also a good traffic officer (some avenues were, to the rage of the New Yorkers, closed off for hours) and a certain touch for apocalyptic poetry.
And, last but not least, I can't forget to mention this: the 'Dark Seekers' who appear quite literally like ghosts in the night and make Neville's life a living hell, really breath out an atmosphere of genuine threat. Unlike the creatures in almost all sci-fi films who appear comical and plain ridiculous. The film also avoids all other common mistakes of these kinds of film.
1) Logic: The hero isn't an all powerful mindless no-neck. He doesn't go out to destroy all the creatures but has a natural reaction which is...avoiding them at all costs. 2) No overkill: the audience isn't drowned in a sea of special effects. Almost all sci-fi movies make the mistake of overusing their digital magic. The story remains central in the film. A great big plus. 3) Well acted: other sci-fi movies (again I'm labeling it sci-fi, while it is clearly a multi-genre film. Sci-fi is just one of the genres) tend to squander money on special effects meanwhile neglecting the casting.
This multi-genre film that is really thé ultimate adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel, is an incredible movie experience. It'll scare and sadden you but will also most definitely amuse and touch you. Put it at the top of your to-see list.
9.1/10