Will Smith entertains fabulously in “I Am Legend,” a science fiction horror film about the end of the world. Smith’s character Robert Neville seems to be the last person remaining on earth, or at least on Manhattan Island, due to a cure for cancer that has mutated into a lethal strain of virus that killed off most humans. Those it did not kill became superhuman zombies that come out only after dark to seek people to attack, like Neville, who are immune to the virus.
Smith handles the role in a more than adequate manner, as he dominates the screen time for over half of the film’s one hundred minutes. The audience relates to him almost immediately. The rest of the small cast includes Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Dash Mihok, and Willow Smith, daughter of the star of the show. Emma Thompson appears in a cameo as the scientist who creates the cancer cure that unintentionally brings humanity to the brink of extinction.
The screenplay by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldman was a good adaptation of the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. Other film versions were “The Last Man on Earth” (1964) starring Vincent Price and “The Omega Man” (1971) starring Chuck Heston. Producer James Lassiter and director Francis Lawrence (“Constantine” 2005) have a good contemporary version on their hands, a very watchable “I Am Legend,” a huge hit at the box office for Warner Bros. Pictures.
I Am Legend (2007)
cinema
My Review
Will Smith entertains fabulously in “I Am Legend,” a science fiction horror film about the end of the world. Smith’s character Robert Neville seems to be the last person remaining on earth, or at least on Manhattan Island, due to a cure for cancer that has mutated into a lethal strain of virus that killed off most humans. Those it did not kill became superhuman zombies that come out only after dark to seek people to attack, like Neville, who are immune to the virus.
Smith handles the role in a more than adequate manner, as he dominates the screen time for over half of the film’s one hundred minutes. The audience relates to him almost immediately. The rest of the small cast includes Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Dash Mihok, and Willow Smith, daughter of the star of the show. Emma Thompson appears in a cameo as the scientist who creates the cancer cure that unintentionally brings humanity to the brink of extinction.
The screenplay by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldman was a good adaptation of the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. Other film versions were “The Last Man on Earth” (1964) starring Vincent Price and “The Omega Man” (1971) starring Chuck Heston. Producer James Lassiter and director Francis Lawrence (“Constantine” 2005) have a good contemporary version on their hands, a very watchable “I Am Legend,” a huge hit at the box office for Warner Bros. Pictures.