Computer is currently screwed. hopefully back next month if PC world EVER get it fixed. PS omg i wo...
Computer is currently screwed. hopefully back next month if PC world EVER get it fixed. PS omg i won an xbox 360 and have only just noticed!??!? *dances*
Member since:22.09.2005
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My room is currently a bit of a mess. Clothes (clean) all over the place, few mugs with tea dregs in the bottom, half used tubs of Vaseline everywhere, a suitcase (empty) lying open in the middle of the floor and a guitar or two kicking about at the sides. Right next to the rather large pile of various coloured nail polish bottles (an art project I'm working on) 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 tidying without a bloody good reason to do so!
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 the start) which were amazing in their own right… and not just because of the willy. I suppose it helped a bit though. Having now seen the other films and loving them, I feared this would be a horridly happy Hollywood horror (alliteration rocks) staring our favourite Sci-Fi normal-guy-who-ends-up-saving-the-world-and-looking-cool-while-doing-so, Will Smith. Oh god, I love type casting.
One thing I seem to forget about Mr Smith is that when you take away those baggy, multi-coloured trousers….Er…Sorry, lost my train of thought… Oh yes… When you look past the initial funny boy thing he had going on for a while, he is actually quite a great actor.
The film is rated age 15 so don't you go letting your kids watch this or the secret police will be round at your door. After all, everyone pays attention to age ratings on films. Hmm.
I Am Legend opens on a news report. I had wondered if someone had just been listening to the news while trying to knock out my fake dvd for me, but this was not the case. We are lured into the movie with a brilliant interview with Doctor Krippin (Emma Thompson) telling us that she has indeed found a cure for cancer. Jump forward three years and we are in the middle of a deserted New York, driving around with Will Smith (I believe his character is called…Robert Neville…or something. It's Will Smith, he needs no character name!) and his gorgeous doggy, Sam, shooting deer.
So the start of the movie sets it up to be rather like any other horror movie in the genre. Creepy atmosphere, making sure we understand the concept of daytime good, night time bad and all that other bum.
Then the film starts doing something else. Rather than focusing on killing, violence and blood (ok, so it does for a bit, but not as much as I had expected) it focuses on Smiths character and how his mental state is crumbling. Something not really touched on in any other similar film is the effect complete isolation has on people. It's very clear Neville has cracked a little bit.
At first I thought it was slightly comical, but as the film goes on, I actually found myself feeling sorry for Neville. I think it helps that Smith is usually at least a little bit comical, whereas in this film, as much as he has his moments, seeing him play Nevilles weakest moments brings an unexpected rawness to it. The film actually had me close to tears at one point and not because of bad performances either!
One thing I didn't really like about the film was the crappy Special effects. For a film that had a budget of $150 million I'd have expected the scenery to look a lot more realistic. Take that inevitable comparison to the film with the willy at the start whose budget was a meek $9.8million and who managed to get London shut down for a few minutes at a time just to film. IAL went more along the lines of digitally recreating Manhattan with a lot of grass sticking out of the pavements and roads. It looked pish.
Throw in the mutated things, who were all computer animated, from rats to people, who were more than pish. They were words I feel I would be slapped on the wrist for publishing. So instead I shall just give you a clue. Starts with Shi and ends in T. I prefer my horror monsters to be realistic. These things weren't realistic and only had the scare factor when they jumped out of nowhere onto your screen. But then even cute little babies holding flowers and lollypops could scare you if they had the ability to jump of a dark room towards you, unexpectedly!
The SFX (and we all know what the S stands for) are, however, compensated for with Will Smiths outstanding performance and some great emotional moments. This is more than just a cheesy horror flick. This is an M and S cheesy horror flick! Go give it a try.
Ps, 28 days later. Christ I've been trying not to say that the whole way through. Relief!
(also on DooYoo)
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Willow Smith, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Alice Braga
I really liked the movie, Will Smith was great in it!
pinkypurple23 10.05.2009 01:36
I really enjoyed this film and thought the clever contrast between the long periods of near silence and then noise created great atmoshere. Enjoyed your review you have a great sense of humour.
inbetweendaysx 23.06.2008 11:14
Good film, wasn't too bad. Love your approach to writing and some sarcy/jokey comments. x
A mainstream Hollywood actor who seems committed to igniting science fiction features, ... more
Will Smith chalked up another sizeable hit in the shape ofI Am Legend, the latest cinematic adaptation of Richard Mathesons book of the same name.This time, Smith pl...
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It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic ... more
reprints series.I Am Legend, though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it present...
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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
Calypte 01.05.2008 (01.05.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of I Am Legend (DVD)
![I Am Legend [DVD] [2007]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/77920057.jpg "I Am Legend [DVD] [2007]")
![I Am Legend [UMD Mini for PSP]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/75170760.jpg "I Am Legend [UMD Mini for PSP]")
Jun 5th, 2008
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