Review of I Am Legend (2007) by Michael H — 03 Jun 2013

I Am Legend has technical issues and in my opinion doesn't exceed the entertainment provided by the 1971 adaptation The Omega Man, but due to some decent action and a great lead performance from Will Smith, I Am Legend proves effective.

In the negative side, at various points the visual effects become clear to the viewer and aren't as convincing by today's standards to viewers who spend their lives growing up with the development of visual effects.

Also, the lighting is fairly poor from time to time especially because many of the important sequences take place at night and so combined with quick editing it becomes difficult to see and comprehend, and the occasionally quick editing leaks over into many of the better lit sequences as well and isn't the most easily comprehendible sight.

Also, I found that the role played by Darkseekers was too minimal for my viewing pleasure in I Am Legend and that they weren't that scary and didn't have relevance until the final 10 minutes and that wasn't great.

Essentially, the story shifted focus too much when Robert Neville found other survivors and they didn't play the pivotal role intended for them, and essentially they were just tedious additions to the story which had minimal importance in their connection to the story's protagonist Robert Neville and gave no reason why he should have bothered to sacrifice himself for them. If anything, it's unintentionally comedic how he survived 3 years with a dog but died after 1 day with a woman.

And the thrills in the story were minimal, as they didn't source from the Darkseekers since they were too minimal in their role, or from the action sequences. The only time I felt myself chilled by I Am Legend was at the sight of a poor dog being murdered, but aside from that I wasn't satisfied with the intended thrills Francis Lawrence put into play when he directed I Am Legend.

On the plus side, the post apocalyptic atmosphere is good due to a convincing setting, and the action is predominantly good.

Also, the way the story follows the mind of Robert Neville is executed well and delves into his mind not just through flashbacks, but through the atmosphere around him and the activities he uses to pass the time.

But mainly it's Will Smith's performance that kept me stuck in the mood, because his performance is routine and yet such a good one. He embraces many of his character skills used previously to portray Robert Neville in I Am Legend, capturing his Bad Boys persona of driving a cool car through the streets with a friend, as well as his Enemy of the State character being on the run from an entire world out to get him, as well as his mourn for his troubled family that he faced in The Pursuit of Happiness. His performance is compelling and powerful and balances his action persona with his dramatic one, and the merge is the greatest part of I Am Legend.

So I Am Legend is great for Will Smith and fans of the post-apocalyptic genre, but minor technical issues and poor plot timing may turn other viewers off.