"I am Legend" Review

Ever been speechless after watching a film?
I was after I saw "Schindler's List", "Children of Men", and just recently "I am Legend" starring Will Smith.

The basic plot of the movie goes a little something like this;
There has been found a cure for cancer. Unfortunately the cure has an unpleasant side effect that turns all those that take it into vampiric, animalistic "zombies" that can only come out at night.
Flash forward three years later (2012 A.D) Robert Nevielle (Smith) is the last human alive in New York City. He is occompanied by his faithful kanine Sam.

During the day, Neveille attempts to live life the best he can, all along waiting and praying for some survivors. At night he has to contend with the mutated infected, all while trying to find a cure using his own immune blood.

What ensues is a mix of post-apocolytic, zombie laden thriller mixed with a survival flick and seasoned with top notch acting from Smith. The vast shots of the silent, stand still city just add to the feeling of being entirely alone; the only thing that may be worse than that feeling of claustrophobia is the feeling of being completely and utterly alone, which this film does very well.

The mood that this film presents is just one to sit in silence over-which I did-and marvel at it. Mixed with the alone feeling is the fear that on any night the mutated humans could find Neveille's home and kill him and his dog.

The lead character is one to sit quietly and marvel at as well. Aside from Sam-and some well placed manakins-Neveille hasn't spoken to a human in 3 years. At some points you wonder if he has gone completely insane-the city being taken over by undergrowth can be seen as a representation of his mental state-but while in his lab, Nevielle seems to be his most intellectual. His mental state is really tested after a crucial scene in the film that will break the psyche of the audience-along with their hearts-and nearly made me cry.

For those looking for a bloody gore fest, they need look elsewhere-may I suggest 28 Days Later. Sure, the special effects may not be seen as the greatest by today's standards, but I'll take the substance of a well written story, strong acting, and an overall "old school" Hollywood film anyday.
I give this one 4.5 out of 5. Near perfect, I just would've personally liked a little more into the backstory of how the epidemic occurred; which the film goes into, but not very in-depth.


*On a side note......yes, Will Smith, in my opinion, should get an Oscar for best performance. This, again in my opinion, is his best work since "Ali."