I am..... a little far off from Legend

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2007)

!!!Possible Spoiler ALERT !!!
Two movies had been made based on adaptation from the novel, 'I Am Legend'. While the earlier version 'Last Man On Earth' is more faithful to its source's content than the latter 'The Omega Man', it's seconded in terms of entertainment value. One may wonder if the people behind the latest, 2007 remake by the same title as the book ever learn anything from the two films, much especially LMOE.
To begin with, I don't expect Hollywood to follow the book a 90-100% cos anyway, you know the studios are so notorious for that and there's no reason to raise your hopes high about it. Understand that and you will learn to watch 'I Am Legend' as a movie INSPIRED, not (really) based on the original novel.
Back to 'Legend', the story's about Robert Neville(Will Smith), the sole surviving resident of a New York desolated by a global viral plague after a research for a cure against cancer went wrong 3 years ago. As a result, Neville, a former military scientist, battles each day, not just for a cure but also for survival against the murderous human horde of infected, sunlight-fearing victims.
The movie's opening scene, the depiction of Neville's lonely adventures and the in-between flashbacks illustrate clearly the origins of the disaster and the grim post-infection consequences our protagonist had to cope with daily. However, being a 100 minute film is a cause for worry and here's why. The vital plot devices and other important elements that had driven the novel and LMOE, are either weakly represented or just plainly absent. A cut down in screen time also means character development, together with the story, suffers and while Smith shines occasionally, the story feels a little rushed to the point that you will probably not feel much sympathy for Neville, maybe cos you are not allowed time to do so. Important stuffs that could have go along are sadly left out.
Despite the flaws, the first half is still quite interesting . It has its key moments of tensions and action scenes in the midst of the mundane quietness of Neville's experiences. Then the story took a very abrupt turn (actually, it's more like a nosedive) around after the part when Neville's companion dog died. He went for a sort of revenge against the infected, nearly got killed before he was rescued (in an odd and rather questionable manner) by the small framed Anna (Alice Braga), together with a young boy (Charlie Tahan) by the name of Ethan. Neville was driven to the safely of his little fortress and all of a sudden, we find him in family setting the next day, trying hard to accept and get along with his new found friends.
The latter part of the film faces the same hasty issue again. Dialouge and interaction between the characters could not get any more inspiring or intimate and before we can know and understand them deeper, the infected horde suddenly launch a massive attack against Neville's home base, successfully broke in and threatened the survivors' lives. The escalation quickly leads to the final climax which by then, lacks of emotional impact even in the form of a heroic sacrifice. The movie ends, concluding with a lame, inaccurate definition of whatever that makes Neville a legend and it certainly does no justice to the sacred meaning of the novel's title which is actually deeper and more intelligent than non readers may care.
Overall, Legend is not really the classic it's anticipated to be. This year's similar fare like '28 Weeks Later' could impressed more than Legend was able to. Especially if you are a reader and fan of the novel, it's probably good you stick with the book. Otherwise, Legend, at best, is anybody's average sci-fi horror.