If you are like me and somehow haven't seen this movie yet, don't bother. It didn't age well.
I'll start with the good. The cinematography was excellent, and many of the introductory shots were reminiscent of the Last of Us video game series - eerie but beautiful. Will Smith did well, though I felt he over-acted at times. Perhaps that's the fault of the director.
As for the rest of the movie... oof. The 2007 CGI obviously doesn't carry over too well in 2021, but even if it were modern CGI the movie still has several major problems.
The premise itself is a bit ridiculous - they've found the cure for cancer, but apparently it can only be delivered by injecting it into a virus, and then into humans. In a society where scientists are so stringent on publishing results, especially for something as large as the cure to cancer, it's a bit hard to believe that a virus that ultimately turns people into vampire/zombies would so quickly be used on the general population, let alone the entire world.
The scene that truly ruined the movie for me was the lead up to the dog, Samantha's death. We see that the lead Darkseeker sics three dogs to kill Neville, and that a mere thin line of sunlight is the difference between death and survival. The sun fades, the dogs attack and bite Sam, and Neville manages to fight off and kill them. And then... the Darkseekers do... nothing? Perhaps they watch on as he has a dramatic moment with his dog and they climb into the car. Why?
From there, we get some classic deus ex machina - literally, as Anna claims it was God who sent her to save Neville in the nick of time from his suicidal plan (side note: he wants to kill a bunch of them, and chooses the option of hitting them to death with his car rather than use his literal armory of automatic weapons?)
I could go on and on, but let's just leave it at: don't watch this movie in present day.
Feeling more like 28 Days Later than The Omega Man, I Am Legend may use the original story's title, but it's not any closer to it. But I'm not judging it as an adaptation. The film is at its best showing Will Smith surviving in an empty New York with his dog, his mind teetering on the edge of insanity as he tries to cure the virus that has mostly wiped out the city's population. The visuals are strong, the acting effective, the survival techniques well thought-out. It's at its weakest when the plague zombies come out, as I truly feel it was a mistake to render them as CGI. They look fake and silly, and you can't really believe they used to be people. The white make-up in The Omega Man was cheap and simple, sure, but is still better than what we get here. So not a bad flick, but I kept getting pulled out whenever the monsters showed up.
I know it sounds kinda vacuous said this way, but this actually is just a stupid-ass blockbuster, it actually tries too fuckin' hard, and it actually proves Will Smith isn't as good as an actor as many people put it.
Good thing is, except for the buddy-doggie, no real animals were used.
Okay, I don't really know if I like this movie or not. I liked Will Smith's acting, the unusual pictures and the scary atmosphere when night approaches...great. On the other hand as soon as the woman (Anna) showed up the movie lost a bit of it's appeal. Additionally, the movie ended too quickly for me - I was waiting for more information, e.g. on this woman whom Smith's character tried to heal... I'm not sure what exactly was missing, but I just left the cinema feeling like some aspects of the story could have been pursued a little further.
Maybe one of my favorite movies and I only like 1/10th of it. For me its all about the story within the story, Robert Neville knows that he is probably the last man alive on earth, with the hole of Manhattan at his disposal!. Giving him the freedom to play golf off of the wing of one of the worlds most iconic aircraft and drive the ball down 5th Avenue!
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Comments 1 - 15 of 32
AgentKay
If you are like me and somehow haven't seen this movie yet, don't bother. It didn't age well.I'll start with the good. The cinematography was excellent, and many of the introductory shots were reminiscent of the Last of Us video game series - eerie but beautiful. Will Smith did well, though I felt he over-acted at times. Perhaps that's the fault of the director.
As for the rest of the movie... oof. The 2007 CGI obviously doesn't carry over too well in 2021, but even if it were modern CGI the movie still has several major problems.
The premise itself is a bit ridiculous - they've found the cure for cancer, but apparently it can only be delivered by injecting it into a virus, and then into humans. In a society where scientists are so stringent on publishing results, especially for something as large as the cure to cancer, it's a bit hard to believe that a virus that ultimately turns people into vampire/zombies would so quickly be used on the general population, let alone the entire world.
The scene that truly ruined the movie for me was the lead up to the dog, Samantha's death. We see that the lead Darkseeker sics three dogs to kill Neville, and that a mere thin line of sunlight is the difference between death and survival. The sun fades, the dogs attack and bite Sam, and Neville manages to fight off and kill them. And then... the Darkseekers do... nothing? Perhaps they watch on as he has a dramatic moment with his dog and they climb into the car. Why?
From there, we get some classic deus ex machina - literally, as Anna claims it was God who sent her to save Neville in the nick of time from his suicidal plan (side note: he wants to kill a bunch of them, and chooses the option of hitting them to death with his car rather than use his literal armory of automatic weapons?)
I could go on and on, but let's just leave it at: don't watch this movie in present day.
Camille Deadpan
Naked Terror (1964) is better. It has Vincent Price.Siskoid
Feeling more like 28 Days Later than The Omega Man, I Am Legend may use the original story's title, but it's not any closer to it. But I'm not judging it as an adaptation. The film is at its best showing Will Smith surviving in an empty New York with his dog, his mind teetering on the edge of insanity as he tries to cure the virus that has mostly wiped out the city's population. The visuals are strong, the acting effective, the survival techniques well thought-out. It's at its weakest when the plague zombies come out, as I truly feel it was a mistake to render them as CGI. They look fake and silly, and you can't really believe they used to be people. The white make-up in The Omega Man was cheap and simple, sure, but is still better than what we get here. So not a bad flick, but I kept getting pulled out whenever the monsters showed up.rabsi1
Book ending > Alternate ending > Theatrical endingdemagogo
I know it sounds kinda vacuous said this way, but this actually is just a stupid-ass blockbuster, it actually tries too fuckin' hard, and it actually proves Will Smith isn't as good as an actor as many people put it.Good thing is, except for the buddy-doggie, no real animals were used.
IreneAdler
Okay, I don't really know if I like this movie or not. I liked Will Smith's acting, the unusual pictures and the scary atmosphere when night approaches...great. On the other hand as soon as the woman (Anna) showed up the movie lost a bit of it's appeal. Additionally, the movie ended too quickly for me - I was waiting for more information, e.g. on this woman whom Smith's character tried to heal... I'm not sure what exactly was missing, but I just left the cinema feeling like some aspects of the story could have been pursued a little further.nicolaskrizan
manhattan looks great, smith is good, concept ok, cg so-sohttp://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/
nymusix
Watch the movie with the original ending, not the theatrical one. Executive meddling turned a very good movie into a so-so one.Hamish72
Maybe one of my favorite movies and I only like 1/10th of it. For me its all about the story within the story, Robert Neville knows that he is probably the last man alive on earth, with the hole of Manhattan at his disposal!. Giving him the freedom to play golf off of the wing of one of the worlds most iconic aircraft and drive the ball down 5th Avenue!sammysin
Very powerful and extremely moving. Smith can do a brilliant job and invokes emotions out of his audience very well.A beautiful job all around.
portuguesetennisfan
breath taking92ndFloor
I thought it was quite nice, until the final +- 10 minutes started. What a fucked up ending, just a shame.epp
Trash 1/10TechnoFAN
Great movie ! 10/10sushilparti
Awesome movie...liked it a lot. Will Smith has done a great job.Showing items 1 – 15 of 32