Today’s quick review: I Am Legend. Will Smith plays Robert Neville, the last man living in a zombie-ravaged New York. During the day, he scavenges for supplies, hunts the wildlife that now live in the city, and traps zombies to experiment on in the hope of finding a cure. After dark, he bunkers in an armored townhouse while the zombies roam the streets. He keeps his sanity through a mixture of diligent routine, various hobbies, and the company of his dog, his only companion.
I Am Legend is a lonely survival film set after the zombie apocalypse. The tone is bleak and sorrowful, but with a deeply buried core of hope. Will Smith delivers a moving performance as effectively the last man on Earth, full of loneliness, resilience, and humanity. The minimalistic cast is the greatest strength of the film and its greatest weakness. The activities of Neville’s day-to-day survival are interesting to watch but limited in story potential by the fact that he is just one man. The movie lingers on his tricks to find food, trap zombies, and keep himself safe, but these are more a part of the setting than the plot. The zombies are suitably terrifying, dangerous, and cunning.
I Am Legend is worth a watch if you are looking for a moody zombie survival film with a powerful emotional core. The character, setting, and execution of the film are all strong, but its plot progression is skewed by all the time spent on typical day-to-day life. I Am Legend is a depressing and occasionally scary watch. Watch if you’re interested in its skillful, if bleak, tone. Skip it if you prefer a bit more plot, a bit more optimism, or a larger cast.
7.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for strong tone and acting but a weak plot.