I Am Legend – Review (Spoiler)
So, my typical complaints about modern picture shows is that they are far too long. I could rant about their overdone themes, but coming up with fresh material or a way of telling the same thing differently can be a challenge. I Am Legend, clocking in at 1 hour and 41 minutes, piqued my interest so I decided to watch it. Here are my thoughts…
I’ve heard about some people complaining that not much happens in the first hour or so. This did not bother me at all in terms of the lack of seizure inducing action as was expected by critics expecting constant flashing on the screen. What those viewers missed was the significance of the depiction of a world post apocalypse and Smith’s incidents of paranoia and hallucinatory experiences. This was fairly interesting to me and held my attention.
Where “I Am Legend” lost me was on two major errors. The first was the shots of Will Smith doing shirtless chin ups while obviously showing his ripped physique. While impressive, this had absolutely nothing to do with the storyline and furthermore, did not fit his casual speaking character which also discredited him as a ‘doctor’. Sadly, this just appeared to be an opportunity for Smith to capitalize on showing off his new physique which made this all the more Hollywood and interfered with buying into the character and plot.
Secondly, regardless of your orientation to organized religion, the female character introduced later in the movie who made references to the almighty, further insulted the integrity of the film by uttering such a cliche.
The only other criticism I’ve heard was in reference to the infected specimens that they were not terrifying or mutated enough. This was not a requirement for me and anyone who would criticize this film for that reason should probably go home and watch any of the Resident Evil series instead.
While “I Am Legend” made a couple of major errors, it was not without merit. As mentioned, the scenic depictions of the post apocalyptic earth were interesting as well as the routines established by Smith’s character “Dr. Robert Neville”. While, showing a nice set of abs and using a cliche segue to bring about an ending may help draw attention from the unobservant masses, it will do nothing for properly conscious movie goers.