Legend, I Tell You. Legend!

Last weekend, I got the opportunity to see I Am Legend, staring Will Smith. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie, and Will Smith did a great job playing the part of Robert Neville. And this was not your classic happy-go-lucky Will Smith, either. Through the course of the film, he seemed to be on the verge of a total breakdown, and considering the premise is that he was completely alone for three years with no human interaction, the performance fit perfectly.

Let me take a step back here. For those that don't know, I Am Legend is based upon the book of the same title by Richard Matheson, written back in 1954. In the original story, Robert Neville is the only human that was immune to a disease that mutated the remainder of society into semi-mindless vampires, all wanting his blood. With a premise like that, how could you not make a great movie. And this is not the first time this plot has been used by Hollywood. The Omega Man, starring Charleton Heston and The Last Man On Earth, starring Vincent Price both were loosely based upon Matheson's novel. I want to point out that this version is also loosely based on the story as well.

For those that read Matheson's I Am Legend, they will notice that the only thing the two have in common is the title and name of the protagonist, but the plot still worked. Up to one point, a scene where Will Smith runs down the "vampires" (they are never really called vampires in the movie) on the pier, this movie was on the verge of being one of those few true greats to come out of Hollywood.

Unfortunately, Hollywood has a knack for taking a great and turning it into a mediocre, and this movie is no exception. There is an element of religion that is so poorly thrown into the story that it feels totally out of place and contrived, but this is not the worst of it. Another poor choice on the director's part was to have all of the "vampires" done with CG instead of real actors (the over-sized mouth and Spiderman like wall climbing were not a part of the original story), but this isn't the worst of it either.

What Hollywood added to this tale that detracts the most from its impact to the genre is out-of-place semi-happy ending. I won't go into great detail here about it to avoid any spoilers, but I Am Legend is one of those tales that becomes more profound when the elements of hope remain, at best, fleeting. The book, conversely, has a well done circular ending that make title fit perfectly and gives the reader that"Woah!" feeling.

This movie does not.

At the end of the movie, I am resigned to say it gets a 3 out of 5 stars. Worth watching for Will Smith's excellent acting, but don't expect too much from the plot.

Sincerely,

Joe :-)