I Am Legend - Movie Review - Will Smith Was Trying to Save Humanity

Will Smith first became popular as a rapper and from starring on a television show before managing to cross over to making major movies. Most of his movies have been very successful and I have seen and enjoyed many of them.

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Three years after a man-made virus killed most people and mutated others, Robert Neville was living with his dog Samantha in the deserted New York City. During the day, he and Samantha traveled around the city before returning to Robert’s home well before it got dark. The mutants had issues with sunlight and would roam the streets at night. Robert had kept hope that there were other survivors and he worked in the lab in his basement to try to find a cure. One day Robert received a shock when he discovered evidence that at least one of the mutants was still able to think somewhat logically and devise plans.

I Am Legend was based on the book by Richard Matheson. Two previous movies, The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth, were also based on the same book. I haven’t seen either of those movies, so I don’t now how this version compares. I also haven’t read the book, so I don’t know what things would have been changed. Since the book was first published in 1954, I’m sure certain things were changed just because this version was set in a different time period.

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The majority of I Am Legend took place after things had gone so wrong. The movie did begin with a short news report about something before going on to showing Robert and Samantha in the deserted city. It was later in the movie before other little bits started to be shared about how things had gone wrong. Even once some explanations were shared, they were just smaller details. Enough was shared to make it clear what had happened. As the movie progressed, there were a few flashbacks that showed Robert trying to get his wife Zoe and daughter Marley out of New York. The flashbacks worked well and it was immediately clear when one was happening.

Much of I Am Legend moved at a slower pace since it was just showing Robert going about his established daily routine. He continued to work out and looked to be in very impressive shape when he had his shirt off. Samantha even took part by running on her own treadmill. He tried to find food while avoiding the buildings dark enough for the mutants to be in during the daylight hours. Later in the movie the pace did pick up a bit as more started to happen. There was one sequence in particular that was very suspenseful. The fact that the movie didn’t have a score also helped to add to the tension in several scenes. I really wasn’t happy with a few things that happened and ended up feeling like the movie was rather bleak and depressing overall despite the few attempts to inject some humor. I did enjoy it for the most part.

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After watching I Am Legend, I read some things online about the movie including how the studio had been able to get certain streets in New York City shut down for the filming. The city really did look like it was deserted with the plants and grass growing out of control and animals roaming around. I did see where some people had issues with the deer running through the city. That made sense to me since wild animals will roam into areas where there aren’t people. The CGI for some of the scenes with the herd did look a bit fake. I believe CGI was used for the mutants too and something just looked off to me with them even though they did look scary. There was some violence in a few scenes and there were also some other disturbing things that might bother some viewers. The movie really isn’t something that young children should see.

Obviously Robert was the main character since he was the only person in most of the movie. He had been in the Army when things went wrong and he had been trying to find a cure for the man-made virus. Even after living alone so long and having to fight for survival, he was still trying to find a cure. Will Smith gave a very strong performance and he had some very believable, powerful scenes. He made Robert likable while also raising doubts about his sanity. Samantha had been Robert’s only companion for several years, so there was a very close bond between them.

Robert’s wife Zoe and daughter Marley were briefly shown during a few flashbacks. Since they weren’t in much of the movie, they really weren’t developed, but that worked for the story. They were around enough to make it clear how much Robert had loved them. Smith’s daughter Willow actually played Marley. Many other people were also shown in the flashbacks without any of them being developed or that important to what was going on.

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I Am Legend had an interesting idea for the plot and was an entertaining movie for the most part. There were a few things I didn’t like at all and ended up feeling like the movie was depressing overall once it was over. Fans of Will Smith may enjoy the movie.