Review 107: I Am Legend
Based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- The Infected -- lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time.
The plot is just beautiful, it tells the one man, just one man, who is last man on Earth and that's why I really like this film just that ere sense of empty urban environments and being alone in the world and not having had any social interaction for such a long period of time and this film treats that subject matter really seriously: through Rob Neville's voice overs and inner rages we get the sense of what it's like to be the last man on Earth.
Another reason why this film is so good is because is it's ideas about an apocalypse happening due to disease and the collapse and persistence of human civilisation: the zombies represent the greed and the evil of humanity whilst Robert Neville represents the good. He represents the good because he is trying to find the cure for this disease and he wants to keep humanity alive.
Later on in the film, a woman named Anna (Alice Braga) and a boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan) find Robert because of his radio broadcasts and they're not just here to be hangers-on, they add dramatic interest to the story and Robert's journey and in some ways restore hope to this lonely man.
Director Francis Lawrence's direction is sensitive, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the , the scenery is breathtaking, the production design is exquisite (the films depiction of an apocalyptic London is astonishing), the score by James Newton Howard is brilliant, the special effects are terrific, the make up is rich, the suspense is gripping, the costumes are tremendous, the sound effects are great and the ending was superb.
The acting is excellent, though the star of the film is mostly Will Smith who delivers a mesmirising performance, his portrayal of Robert Neville is so moving and the most accurate portrayal of a lonely man I've seen in a movie since Tom Hanks in Cast Away but Alice Braga and Chalie Tahan don't lag far behind and the actors who portray the zombies are really scary.
I Am Legend is a beautiful post apocalypitic film and in my honest personal opinion, the finest adaptation of Richard Matheson's book, 4/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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