Instead of maintaining its edgy sense of constant discomfort, the movie is compelled to make Neville as fuzzily adorable and messianic as possible.
I Am Legend (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:140
Rotten:64
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: I Am Legend overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of Will Smith's mesmerizing performance.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Dec 14, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $256,339,571
Synopsis: Will Smith is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been... Will Smith is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been turned into an army of nocturnal zombies. Immune to the virus, military scientist Neville searches for a cure in his Washington Square townhouse. Haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan two years prior, he drives through the city with his German Shepherd, Sam, by day and barricades his home from the monsters nightly. But when Anna (Alice Braga)--another immune stranger-finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard. Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich's emotionally-charged script showcases the charisma of Smith, who commands the screen alone for most of the picture (aside Abbey, a talented German Shepherd). Director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE) uses music minimally, wisely allowing the eerie cityscapes to remain mostly silent. The set pieces, including an overgrown, deserted Times Square and a lion hunting a deer in the Flatrion District, are goosebump-inducing moments of stark beauty. Though some may question the rendering of the monsters in CGI instead of using actors, it does allow them to be frighteningly acrobatic. A chilling and effective adaptation of a horror classic, I AM LEGEND is also a thought-provoking piece of Hollywood filmmaking. [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan
Director: Francis Lawrence
Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman, Neal Moritz
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for I Am Legend
Even though Lawrence's film is an honorable attempt to bring more depth and meaning to the tale, ultimately he probably should have opted for more gore, less grief.
What starts off as a compelling drama descends into a stock B-grade horror flick with some of the worst big budget special effects of recent memory.
What we have here is about two-thirds great and one-third awful, and in that order.
A big part of the reason for this movie's nose dive around the one-hour mark is that, seen up close, the Infected just aren't that scary.
I Am Legend is carried for a long while on the strength of Smith's performance, but even he can carry it only so far.
Director Francis Lawrence alternates cleverly among scenes of high tension, ferocious scares and moments that bring home Neville's feeling of abandonment and solitude.
The only perspective you'll gain about being the last man on earth is that other cars never move and TV's always in reruns. Eerily similar.
All the effort that went into the spectacle of destroying Manhattan in flashbacks could have been better spent on developing the claustrophobic, creepy present.
The third act is where it finally, fatally trips itself up. A couple of key revelations seem like they are leading somewhere and suddenly, the film is over.
[M]agnificently disturbing.... a masterful rendering of a city stripped of its soul...
This can't-miss concept, in development for decades, was done first and done better in 28 Days Later.
The popcorn elements are well handled, but what lingers is the sense of urban despair.
If, as a movie, I Am Legend is less stylistically mind blowing and intellectually ambitious than last year’s Yuletide dystopia, Children of Men, it’s not far off.
And as for that ending... sigh. I guess two thirds of a great movie is better than nothing.
The monsters ... look like cartoonish, drooling mannequins. It's like being chased through the Macy's men's department.
Latest News for I Am Legend
December 08, 2008:
Will Smith Outlines "Fantastic Prequel Idea" for I Am Legend ![]()
Never mind all that stuff about the next "I Am Legend" movie being a sequel -- Will Smith gave the straight scoop to Collider recently, and outlined his ideas for the "Legend"... More...
November 25, 2008:
A Sequel for I Am Legend? ![]()
It's utterly unverified, but AICN has started a rumor that the upcoming "I Am Legend" prequel may not be a prequel at all, but will instead pick up the story of Will Smith's... More...
September 25, 2008:
Will Smith Is Still Legend ![]()
Warner Bros. is moving ahead with its rumored "I Am Legend" prequel, and has hired D.B. Weiss to write a script based on an outline by Will Smith, Francis Lawrence, Akiva... More...
July 28, 2008:
Weekly Ketchup: TRON, I Am Legend, Hercules, Red Sonja, And More
In this special edition Weekly Ketchup, the sequels, prequels and comic book heroes keep coming, as we have the latest from Comic Con. More...
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