DVD: Warner Brothers Two-Disc Unrated DVD (2008)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok
Gore Gauge: Medium
Skin o Meter: None
Movie: 4 skulls
Extras: 2 skulls
Overall: 3.5 skulls
“I Am Legend” tells the story of Robert Neville…the Last Man on Earth.
In this adaptation of Richard Matheson’s brilliant novella of the same title, Neville patrols the streets of Manhattan. He hunts with his dog, intent on capturing the creatures that run the night, and finding a cure for the virus that has made all other humans into bloodthirsty, ravenous beings.
The film opens with a news media interview of a doctor who claims through viral treatments, her group of medical scientists has found a cure for cancer. Three years later, that virus has mutated and mankind has reverted into savages. Neville, and his dog Sam, are the only living beings viewers see who remain uninfected. While Neville has the unique position of being completely immune, he reports that canines cannot be infected by the airborne virus, only through a bite.
Neville’s hunt and chemical trials leave him edgy and frustrated as cure after cure he develops fails. He knows that despite his greatest cautions, time is against him. There is only a finite amount of supplies available to him, and with the virus mutating further, the potential that he can be infected is growing.
The film features some high-tension moments early on, when the hunt leads indoors and into darkness. Smith does a powerful job of playing the frantic and compassionate Neville, despite only CGI beasts and beings and a dog as a co-star (until Act Three). His very human conversations with Sam show a deep relationship and dependence that make viewers like each of them more. (It can be argued that the most touching scene in the movie involves Neville’s best friend.) He grows increasingly paranoid and edgy, and for all the right reasons. He begins to lose the fringes of control, and exposes himself to danger with each mistake. Through the use of flashbacks, viewers learn just how personal the mission is for Neville, where he shows his love for his wife and daughter, despite the world coming down around them.
Director Francis Lawrence makes great use of broad shots to focus on how alone and isolated Neville has become. His images of the ruined Manhattan and the sheer scope of destruction are incredible. Picturing such devastation should be difficult, but through the visuals provided, it’s pretty convincing. The CGI animals are well done. The mutants, however, are always just a bit too mechanical, and never quite believable..
The screenplay written by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman fits Matheson’s work brilliantly into modern-day Manhattan. The repeated use of the optimistic “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, is a nice ray of hope, and of sorrow, at the right times. To mirror Neville’s situation, this modernization expands the role of children. Where Lawrence makes a stand on the fact that the enemies in this film are not vampires, traditionalist fans of the source work may take offense. Instead, the screenwriters make use of it when Smith states, “God didn’t do this. We did.”
Matheson’s writing style is minimalist, unlike other authors intent on twelve-page descriptions of a scene. As a result, film adaptations have been developed, each fitting their own time and place. 1964’s “The Last Man on Earth” (Vincent Price) and 1971’s “The Omega Man” (Charlton Heston) are two of the best known. Smith, who arguably has every bit of range as the other two combined, pours himself into the hollowed-out man who Neville becomes.
The Two-Disc DVD includes two different endings. The original theatrical ending is featured on Disc One, and an alternate ending on Disc Two. Either of these endings serves the film well, though the original seems more consistent with the focus and drive with which Neville is portrayed throughout the film. While the DVD boasts many extras, most are online only, save for four animated comics.