I Am Legend (DVD)

Advantages: Good set design, good acting. Story line had potential to be good.
Disadvantages: The way the film is filmed is too similar to alot of other films, why make this film???

...Review Details of I am Legend Directed By: Francis Lawrence Release Date: 26 December 2007 (UK) Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi Run Time: 101 Minutes Certification: 15 (uk) Starring: Will Smith Alice Braga Charlie Tahan Plot: When a plague like disease hits New York City, everybody is evacuated, leaving only Robert Neville, a Government scientist who was unable to stop the virus spreading, and who stayed to try and control it at groud zero. 3 years ...
...he drives around in, now I know you probably think, oh he'll just get it from the many cars which will have been abandoned, well for 1, after 3 years of driving around in a new car everyday, he'd have to have found over 1000 cars with full petrol tanks in New York city alone, but after 3 years, alot of cars won't be able to be started, they'll be dead, in need of something fixing, and as most of the cars you see parked up in the film are stuck where ... Read review

Advantages: Good film, could be better tho!
Disadvantages: Rubbish CGI, poor ending!

I Am Legend was released in 2007, and directed by Francis Lawrence, a relative newcomer to the directing business, who's only other piece of work worth mentioning was Constantine. The movie is based on a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson, which has been adapted for the silver screen twice before, as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, and as The Omega Man in 1971. The movie stars Will Smith in the lead role, and also features his daughter, Willow Smith, ...
...he becomes their victim. I have very much mixed feelings about this film. Having been a big fan of The Omega Man, and also of Will Smith, I really wanted to enjoy this film, and to be honest I did, but maybe not to the degree I had hoped. This is a really good movie, however there are many features in the film that could have been better, and could have made the film the blockbuster that it should have been. There are three key elements to this ... Read review

Advantages: More drama than you might think
Disadvantages: SFX are crud.

...lies a pile of DVDs I have come to known as Procrastination Heaven. Having exhausted every other way I could think possible to escape actually having to tidy (yep, EVERY way) I glanced at the pile. On the top was a film I've been trying to avoid just as much as the cleaning. After a few short moments (that felt like a lifetime of deciding) I finally convinced myself that I would just have to do it. The movie I mean. Well, I'll be damned if I am ...
...The movie in question was I Am Legend. This is one that has been on the books for a LONG time. The film company has owned the rights to the books since the seventies. That's older than me that is! They have also tried to get this film out there before but, for various reason, the production fell through. Instead of this rearing its head sooner, other films with similar ideas popped up (such as that one where you get to see the cute guys willy at ... Read review

Advantages: Stark portrayal of the madness of loneliness and terror
Disadvantages: A bit slow, fails to take the risks of not being quite so mainstream

I Am Legend opens with a news report: It's 2009, and - without as much fanfare as you'd expect - Emma Thomson calmly announces they've created a cure for cancer. Every human trial has been successful; a genetic re-engineering of the measles virus has eliminated mankind's biggest health fear. Fast forward 3 years, and it has eliminated mankind. Almost. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the sole survivor in a desolate, ground-zero New York. A virologist ...
...first half hour or so, I was very relieved to have a dog in this movie - Sam the Alsatian, Neville's sole companion - as it provides the sole emotional tie to the story, for me. And it's the moment Sam is placed in danger that Will Smith's character suddenly shows real emotion and the whole thing becomes a bit more interesting. For, in the dark places, the remnants of humanity lurk. Some complain that the vampires of the book have been changed to ... Read review

Advantages: Some good moments of suspense. Good scene setting.
Disadvantages: Lost it's story to some daft horror scenes.

...in the usual pattern that I was expecting. I enjoy watching end of the world type scenario's like The Day After Tomorrow or Independence Day - big action films, when humanity pulls together to save the world. However, although the film does centre on disease killing off the population, here the similarity ends. The 15 certificate is a clue that this is not family entertainment and the film is a lot darker than the aforementioned films. The main hero ...
...now look like zombies. (Hope I haven't given too much away there - but this does become apparent in the early stage of the film) Robert Neville hopes his medical research will be able to help them return to their former selves. Although, other characters participate in the film, most notably in a series of flashbacks, Will Smith has a lot of screen time, so if you are not a fan, then it is best to avoid this film altogether. ***Opinion*** I was ... Read review

Advantages: cute little dog
Disadvantages: ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and when she picked I Am Legend, I wasn't particularly happy about her choice, and had to watch this DVD because it's part of the house rules. This film is adapted from the 1957 novel by Richard Matheson. This novel has been made into a film 3 times. It was first adapted in 1964 as "The Last Man on Earth", then in 1971 as "The Omega Man". And then finally in 2007, "I Am Legend" The director of this film is Francis Lawrence. I don't know what to say about this director. Okay, so I didn't enjoy this film, and didn't expect I would either. But that doesn't make him a bad director; any director who had decided to direct this film couldn't have done it better, and possibly couldn't have done it worse. Francis, I presume, is a really good director and has 3 new films coming up; also he is mostly linked with the music video industry, as he has... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A charismatic performance from Will Smith and great opening half-hour.
Disadvantages: Too many effects and not enough story.

...with warm brass and plaintive piano and rising strings bring tension to the final attack. "I Am Legend" has a promising start but falls into cliché when it turns Hollywood action movie. It's a shame because Will Smith's committed performance hints at a deeper, more emotionally satisfying story. The direction is workmanlike but undermined by the number of visual effects shots that suck the menace out of the situation. The writing does itself no favours by wimping out and throwing in an unnecessary happy ending that struggles to justify the name of the movie. So overall the film is disappointing and certainly won't become a legend.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: good entertaining film
Disadvantages: ending was a bit abrupt

...Producers: Erwin Stoff, David Heyman and Akiva Goldsman Director: Francis Lawrence. Writers: Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman Based on the 1954 novel by Richard Matheson. Starring: Will Smith (with a short appearance by Alice Braga towards the end of the movie). Released in 2007 this was always going to be one of Will Smiths most challenging rolls, acting solo through most of the movie. Sadly, compared to Wills other movies, such as 'I robot', 'Men in Black 1 and 2' 'Independence day' and many many more, this movie lacked something to which Will Smith, regardless of his talent, could do anything to salvage. **BRIEF PLOT** The film is based in 2012 and opens with flash backs from 2009, showing the human race being wiped out by what was grown as the cure for cancer. The rest of the film is a solo performance from... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful