I Am Legend? No, Not Really...

What Happened? That’s the title of today’s fractal image. I picked it because when I saw the latest version of I AM LEGEND all I could say was--what happened??? What happened to the plot? What happened to the critics? And most of all--what happened to the taste level of the movie-going public? Yes, the colors are completely wrong for such a dark and depressing movie but the title was just too perfect to waste!
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I AM LEGEND began life in 1954 as a Novella by Richard Matheson. This is the thrid big screen version following THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring Vincent Price (1964) and THE OMEGA MAN (1971) which starred Charlton Heston. The latest big screen big budget blockbuster has almost nothing in common with the source material other than the title and the name of the main character. All versions feature a world-wide plague that turns all of humanity into near-mindless, night-dwelling killing machines and end with the death of the main character.
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The action has been transferred from Los Angeles to Manhattan in the latest version. Action God Will Smith plays Dr. Robert Neville (who seems to be) the last survivor of a world-wide plague (a mutated form of Rubella)--leaving the sufferers (those who didn’t die outright) as near-mindless blood crazed monsters. Manhattan is Ground Zero (imagine that!) and Neville fights a never-ending battle for survival and sanity as he attempts to find a cure for the disease. He believes the “Darkseekers” (so named because they cannot tolerate any form of strong light) have completely devolved. He eventually encounters another survivor and her son that leads to the final showdown between Neville and the Darkseekers.
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There are two reasons to see I AM LEGEND--first and foremost is the setting. I don’t know where the movie was filmed but it certainly looks like a ruined New York City: the sets and CGI are so perfect you will completely believe you are seeing a devastated Manhattan after several years of neglect. There is also no doubt that Will Smith is a wonderfully talented actor: you get to see a lot of that because he’s alone on screen for two thirds of them film (not counting the dog). His monomania and degenerating mental state is movingly portrayed and completely believable. Take these two things away though and you have just another scary flick with all the standard tricks used to scare the audience in any low-budget killfest.
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Maybe I was just too critical but I could never suspend my disbelief long enough to stop the flood of questions running through my head. Why is it that,on an island inhabited by blood-suckers there still manage to be herds of deer and elk--not to mention lions? (I mean--a combination of lack of food and a high predator population should have wiped them out--right?) Why is it that the Darkseekers took so long to go after Neville? And why does Neville go through every “don’t” in the “Slasher Movie” genre? (Surely he must have seen one in his life!) How did Anna get from the mainland to Manhattan Island? How did she survive for three years on her own? (assuming the world is has hostile as New York City at least) How does a Hispanic woman have a son named Ethan for God’s sake??? How does she know about the survivors’ colony in Vermont while Neville doesn’t? ("God told me" just doesn't work here.)
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I’d also like to know why the writers turned the “Darkseekers” into mindless monsters. (I appreciate the fact that they were no longer standard “vampire” caricatures but the way they are done in the film leaves me cold.) I also would love to know why so many critics seemed to love this movie: Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times absolutely loved it! Sadly, I am in the minority here: the viewing public made this the best December movie opening EVER and most critics can’t heap enough praise on it.
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Yes, the Set Design is “Oscar”-worthy and there are some nice stunts but the CGI monsters look like high-end video game creations. The plot isn’t the least bit logical or believable--not to mention having more holes than Swiss Cheese--and there is nothing new or revelatory in the movie. I can only hope that I AM LEGEND dies a quick death like a Darkseeker exposed to sunlight.
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FINAL GRADE: D+