I Am Legend reviews

[MaxFly]

Incidentally, if anyone is wondering what I mean when I said we've done this with Pursuit of Happyness already, check out the Pursuit thread, starting at page 25.

[Hero1]

IESB Review

As ready as I was to hate it, though, I'll admit that a lot of I Am Legend works, save two significant faults.

Neville's already begun a descent into madness. Smith is shockingly good at this -- I was amazed to see him in person at the press day and compare the youthful, full-of-life reality (I swear, the guy doesn't age) to the older, broken Neville of the film. It's an impressive development for an actor who can turn out one-liners with the best of them to get to the level of loneliness he does here, talking to himself and wandering the city. The Will Smith charm is turned on it's ear and there's maybe no else we'd feel as bad for being the last man on Earth.

The first problem is the monsters. They look awful. Really, really awful. With the tension the film builds around small but powerful moments, it's absolutely shocking that we're getting CGI here. Really bad CGI, to boot.

SPOILERS

And then there's the other problem -- the problem that takes everything that works in the film and just trashes it.

That's the ending.

We've all heard rumors of last-minute reshoots. They're true. The ending reeks of it. Just when you think that the film is building to a faithful-to-the-book magnificent twist, it's over and whatever just happened doesn't begin to make sense.

I was actually on the edge of the seat, despite the ridiculousness of the climax. "How," I wondered, "Are they possibly going to get through the next thirty minutes of this movie?"

Stupid question. There's no next thirty minutes. It's suddenly wrapped up in a truly inconceivable way. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I Am Legend has one of the biggest let-down endings of all time and that it tears apart everything good that may have been present throughout the film.

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_c...2&Itemid=99

[Typhoon20]

That won't fare well with the critics, the ending. I understand killing Will in the movie will seriously hurt the movie's box-office success, but if Will wants to do art movies wrapped in blockbusters and he wants critical acclaim, he needs to consider why this one isn't going to be received so well. You can't take a masterpiece which revolves around the ending and completely change it. Might as well change the name, the book this movie is based on.

I'm seeing it nonetheless, but still, happy ending is not what I was expecting.

Maybe he could have died while saving the human race, that would have been at least something. I really really really wanted this to work for Will, I want him to get his own LOTR. Also, how can they fail at the CGI of the monsters so badly ? Especially when you consider how amazing of a job they did with a deserted NY.

At first with the positive reviews I was very excited but than a lot of bad ones came, which really took away everything. And I seriously don't think it's just Akiva Goldsman either. Will did work on the script too ya know.

[Hero1]

As far as the CGI I think they had problems with it all along and ended up with something like 5 different CGI companies working on it..because they weren't happy with the results coming in..

[viber_91]

Heres a review from: http://www.latinoreview.com/news/reader-s-...-am-legend-3435

"The entire population of the planet has been wiped out by a man-made virus that was designed to cure cancer. When man plays God, the Devil comes out to play and a small percentage of survivors have turned into blood-thirsty creatures with skin that burns in sunlight. Will Smith is a military scientist who was working on a cure when the crap hit the fan and Manhattan was cut off by blowing up the river crossings. Didn't help 'cause he's all that's left. He lives where no black man has ever lived before, a townhouse in Washington Square with a German shepherd and conduct experiments in the basement to find a cure.

Though the New York he lives in is a few years from now, it must be in some kind of Warner Bros./D.C. Comics alternate universe, because in Times Square on 47th St. and Broadway is a giant billboard with the Batman/Superman comic book logo from a movie we know will never get made. Times Square as well as the rest of the city is barren, save for foliage and the occasional herd of deer. In one sequence Smith chases a herd in a suped up red Mustang only to run into Simba and his pride who show him who's really king of this concrete jungle. Guess someone left the gates to the Bronx zoo open.

Smith like to workout, play golf on the Intrepid aircraft carrier and converse with his plastic friends. No he's not into kinky stuff, but he's set up a couple of mannequins at that abandoned Tower Video location in the Village. He even asks the “clerk” who’s the pretty girl in one section of the store – the porno section if you look closely. Though his German shepherd is a loyal dog, she sometimes gets him into trouble. In one of those "don't go in there" scenes, the dog chases a deer into a dark building. Those creatures like to hide in the dark so if I were Smith I'd tell the dog she was on her own, but of course he doesn't. Can't say I blame him since this German shepherd is the last “man's best friend” for the last man on Earth.

A good hour of this movie is Will Smith and the dog and though that sounds pretty boring I was surprised to find myself on the edge of my seat. There's one spry sequence with the dog going into that dark building but basically no action. I didn't mind, but I wished those CGI creatures didn't all look the same. They seem to really hate Smith too and are always screaming or trying to bite into him. One in particular, the leader, looks like an angry hairless Bruce Willis. As if Bruce Willis wasn't already angry and hairless.

Before I read the graphic novel, I was interested in what the rumored Ridley Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger "I Am Legend" was gonna be like. Whatever city it was to take place in, you know that Arnold was probably gonna blow up half of it before the movie was over. As a Ridley Scott film it probably would have been filled with smoke and taken place entirely at night. They would have changed the ending as well, like they did here, but at least this one has the same nobility as the book. There's a point when it looks like Smith might get a little action between the sheets when Alice Braga and a little boy show up as uninfected survivors. They actual hook up in the graphic novel, but I was surprised to find I'm glad they didn't get it on here. He still tries to turn her on with a little Bob Marley though. Still after catching her in "Lower City" I wouldn't have mind seeing Braga naked.

"I Am Legend" is a drama and Will Smith hits this one out of the park. It's not easy for a former rapper from Philly to play a guy living alone with a dog and have the audience sympathize with him, but it works. Sure he sheds a few tears, but they seem genuine and not like someone off camera held an onion under his eye. You feel for the guy because he feels helpless, feels he can't save mankind and has lost his wife and child. If Salli Richardson were my wife I'd cry too.

I don't know what they did, but they really represented New York well. This is the Manhattan that I know, not a studio back lot with grass and weeds growing through the concrete. When Smith turns his mustang off of Sixth Avenue he hits Fifth, then the flatiron building and Park Avenue or whatever familiar landmarks and locations there are throughout this familiar city. It must have cost them a fortune and when Smith fans discover this 'aint an action movie, they'll never make that money back.

"I Am Legend" was made by the same guy who directed "Constantine" and they are obviously two different movies. For once we don't get an Mtv video style pic that's made by a former music video director. The fact that you really feel like you're in an abandoned New York makes it feel more real and helps you connect to Smith more. I just wish the creatures were more realistic or even Vampires like in the book. If you like Will Smith, come check out a way you haven't seen him act or may not again. It's not his all-time academy performance, but its miles ahead of seeing the Governator blow up most of New York.

Overall I give this film Two and a Half Stars"

[Typhoon20]

Another user review who hasn't read the novel.

Most of these are going to be positive.

Edited December 5, 2007 by Typhoon20

[viber_91]

Buzznet Movie Review:

http://www.buzznet.com/tags/iamlegend/jour...buzznet-movie-r eview-i-am-legend/

You’d think with the hefty marketing package that I Am Legend is being pushed with that this was the summertime. The previews, the star power, and the ambitious concept all seem to suggest that. Superstar Will Smith portrays Dr. Robert Neville, the lone survivor of a man-made viral outbreak that has destroyed the entire world population. Creepy images of CGI monsters (rumored to be “zombies” or “vampires”) are hinted in the trailers.

Because of this, I went into this film expecting standard horror fare. (Not that that’s a bad thing.) However, I was treated to a haunting and disturbing character study that later devolves into what I expected.

I should explain. (And I will!) Richard Matheson first wrote I Am Legend in 1954 and it has been made for the screen 3 times. (Four if you count the straight-to-video An Omega this year.) Every adaptation has, so far, been fairly complex and relied fairly heavily on the vampires that Matheson’s novel introduced. (They’ve also appeared as zombies as well.)

What Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend does is eliminate the entire idea of a “supernatural” monster: A project Dr. Neville worked on to create a cure for cancer backfired and mutated to give birth to a virus that essentially renders it’s victims into a bizarre state of light sensitivity and cannibalism. In this sense, the creatures in this movie are not anything we’ve seen before.

While fans of the novel are probably already crying foul, as the movie departs very drastically from the novel in the second half, I found that this movies enduring strength is it’s first hour, which is quite faithful to the novel. We’re shown a completely abandoned and desolate New York City, in a cinematical feat that is sure to become it’s own legend in years to come. The asphalt streets are cracked and decayed. Vines and weeds poke out of the ground and string from building to building. While cars, vehicles, trucks, and busses are left abandoned when they were evacuated three years prior, deer and wildlife, left unchecked by the lack of all humankind, have set in to roam down 5th street.

This is a post-apocalyptic world that is shocking and mesmerizing. The difference between this movie and the inevitable comparison to 28 Days Later is that in I Am Legend, a great deal of the movie takes place in the warm, sunny day time. 28 Days Later, with it’s gritty filming style, only presented us with a dark, grim world. The magic of I Am Legend’s first hour is the realism of the enviroment.

And then we see Dr. Robert Neville for the first time. Will Smith’s hair is cut short; he’s gaunt, yet physical. Gray hairs peek through his beard and head. His trusty German Shepard is at his side. In one of the more surreal moments of the film, we see a lone man hunting for wildlife in downtown Manhattan.

The movie moves on from this introduction to continue telling us how this man lives. Previously a Lieutenant with the Army and a world-renowned virologist, we’re told through flashbacks how a possible cure for cancer mutated and killed off nearly 98% of the entire population. Surviving alone for over three years, Neville barricades himself off from the mutated monsters at night in an apartment stocked with weaponry, canned foods, music, and movies.

What we’re presented with, and what makes this movie so incredible, is a man who has developed an infallible routine to help him survive and keep him sane. Since there are no other humans around, he openly talks to his dog as if it’s a real person. The dialogue isn’t forced in order to further the plot. It appears as if the camera is simply there, capturing a moment in time.

Neville makes his rounds about the city, collecting food, medicine, and any other supplies he may need. And every day, he waits at a particular pier for anyone who hears the radio signal he sends out, every day. For three years, no one has showed up.

Will Smith is absolutely engrossing and I can’t believe I so highly enjoyed a performance of his. When Neville’s “system” is disrupted (I won’t spoil it for you), he pulls out no emotional stops. There is a particular scene in a record store, just past the halfway mark, that had me gaping in horror and in tears. It’s perhaps Smith’s most glorious performance of his career and worthy of some sort of recognition. Throughout the film, the subtle twitches of his face and the desperation in his eyes contribute to realizing a character bent on trying to right the wrong he arbitrarily helped commit.

The latter half of the movie is more action-based. It’s entertaining, creepy, and full of “jump-out-of-your-seat moments, exactly as I had expected from such a movie. It’s not bad at all and the resolution is bittersweet, if not a bit too heavy on the visual metaphors. (When you see the church, you’ll understand.)

This film’s first 60+ minutes is nearly perfect. Taut, suspenseful, and incredibly smart, if just a bit slow. (I wouldn’t want it to be a faster pace, though.) It may be being billed as an action-adventure-horror flick, but it’s too complex and nuanced for that. If you’re a fan of the book, I don’t know how you’ll feel about this movie. There are no vampires and the “Family” element is completely gone. However, Akiva Goldsman has written an adaptation that, in my opinion, is incredibly faithful to the idea behind Matheson’s novel: How would man act if there were no other people around?

[Jazzy Julie]

I know im going to enjoy this movie from the clips ive seen and from the trailer. Bad reviews just make me wanna see it more, sounds stupid but if a critic likes a movie it means its probably not going to interest me.

The only thing im worried about is the ending, apart from that im certain it will be great. Its gonna be a big one for Will too, i think it will do better than his last few movies (touch wood).

[MaxFly]

Buzznet Movie Review:

http://www.buzznet.com/tags/iamlegend/jour...buzznet-movie-r eview-i-am-legend/

You’d think with the hefty marketing package that I Am Legend is being pushed with that this was the summertime. The previews, the star power, and the ambitious concept all seem to suggest that. Superstar Will Smith portrays Dr. Robert Neville, the lone survivor of a man-made viral outbreak that has destroyed the entire world population. Creepy images of CGI monsters (rumored to be “zombies” or “vampires”) are hinted in the trailers.

Because of this, I went into this film expecting standard horror fare. (Not that that’s a bad thing.) However, I was treated to a haunting and disturbing character study that later devolves into what I expected.

I should explain. (And I will!) Richard Matheson first wrote I Am Legend in 1954 and it has been made for the screen 3 times. (Four if you count the straight-to-video An Omega this year.) Every adaptation has, so far, been fairly complex and relied fairly heavily on the vampires that Matheson’s novel introduced. (They’ve also appeared as zombies as well.)

What Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend does is eliminate the entire idea of a “supernatural” monster: A project Dr. Neville worked on to create a cure for cancer backfired and mutated to give birth to a virus that essentially renders it’s victims into a bizarre state of light sensitivity and cannibalism. In this sense, the creatures in this movie are not anything we’ve seen before.

While fans of the novel are probably already crying foul, as the movie departs very drastically from the novel in the second half, I found that this movies enduring strength is it’s first hour, which is quite faithful to the novel. We’re shown a completely abandoned and desolate New York City, in a cinematical feat that is sure to become it’s own legend in years to come. The asphalt streets are cracked and decayed. Vines and weeds poke out of the ground and string from building to building. While cars, vehicles, trucks, and busses are left abandoned when they were evacuated three years prior, deer and wildlife, left unchecked by the lack of all humankind, have set in to roam down 5th street.

This is a post-apocalyptic world that is shocking and mesmerizing. The difference between this movie and the inevitable comparison to 28 Days Later is that in I Am Legend, a great deal of the movie takes place in the warm, sunny day time. 28 Days Later, with it’s gritty filming style, only presented us with a dark, grim world. The magic of I Am Legend’s first hour is the realism of the enviroment.

And then we see Dr. Robert Neville for the first time. Will Smith’s hair is cut short; he’s gaunt, yet physical. Gray hairs peek through his beard and head. His trusty German Shepard is at his side. In one of the more surreal moments of the film, we see a lone man hunting for wildlife in downtown Manhattan.

The movie moves on from this introduction to continue telling us how this man lives. Previously a Lieutenant with the Army and a world-renowned virologist, we’re told through flashbacks how a possible cure for cancer mutated and killed off nearly 98% of the entire population. Surviving alone for over three years, Neville barricades himself off from the mutated monsters at night in an apartment stocked with weaponry, canned foods, music, and movies.

What we’re presented with, and what makes this movie so incredible, is a man who has developed an infallible routine to help him survive and keep him sane. Since there are no other humans around, he openly talks to his dog as if it’s a real person. The dialogue isn’t forced in order to further the plot. It appears as if the camera is simply there, capturing a moment in time.

Neville makes his rounds about the city, collecting food, medicine, and any other supplies he may need. And every day, he waits at a particular pier for anyone who hears the radio signal he sends out, every day. For three years, no one has showed up.

Will Smith is absolutely engrossing and I can’t believe I so highly enjoyed a performance of his. When Neville’s “system” is disrupted (I won’t spoil it for you), he pulls out no emotional stops. There is a particular scene in a record store, just past the halfway mark, that had me gaping in horror and in tears. It’s perhaps Smith’s most glorious performance of his career and worthy of some sort of recognition. Throughout the film, the subtle twitches of his face and the desperation in his eyes contribute to realizing a character bent on trying to right the wrong he arbitrarily helped commit.

The latter half of the movie is more action-based. It’s entertaining, creepy, and full of “jump-out-of-your-seat moments, exactly as I had expected from such a movie. It’s not bad at all and the resolution is bittersweet, if not a bit too heavy on the visual metaphors. (When you see the church, you’ll understand.)

This film’s first 60+ minutes is nearly perfect. Taut, suspenseful, and incredibly smart, if just a bit slow. (I wouldn’t want it to be a faster pace, though.) It may be being billed as an action-adventure-horror flick, but it’s too complex and nuanced for that. If you’re a fan of the book, I don’t know how you’ll feel about this movie. There are no vampires and the “Family” element is completely gone. However, Akiva Goldsman has written an adaptation that, in my opinion, is incredibly faithful to the idea behind Matheson’s novel: How would man act if there were no other people around?

That's an incredible review. It's amazing how divergent some of the reviews are; one says he was a poor choice for the part and that he wasn't credible as a military scientist, and a few seem to say that his performance was incredible... the person I'm quoting went as far as saying "It’s perhaps Smith’s most glorious performance of his career and worthy of some sort of recognition." I somehow doubt that, but still... wow.

[Hero1]

the consensus seems to be the first hour is very strong and Will puts in a good performance..then they diverge from the book.. not as good from then on and we get a horrible ending

[Emily the Bunny]

hey! thanks for sharing reviews guys!

im sooo excited for this movie. =D

[Hero1]

another imdb review

..and I've gotta say I'm a bit disapointed.

IN SHORT: This should have been called "I AM LEGEND-ISH"or "iMONSTER."

If you love the book, you'll likely be disappointed too. If you haven't, you may actually enjoy it.

Why am I so disappointed? After so many films inspired by I Am Legend this one actually shared the title, main character's name and to remove all doubt, the marketing literature all evokes "Richard Matheson" over and over. But alas, this is just another story INSPIRED by the book.

Even the famous last line is not uttered by the protagonist... and when something like it is, it is paraphrased. While it would take way too long to list all of the differences, let alone the ending, I have listed a few...

(if you missed it in the subject line...THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW).

-In the original Neville is a factory worker...here he's a big time scientist. The original "everyman" stature makes you empathize w/ him. While Smith's performance is always strong, he's playing a scientist/colonel in the army studying the disease and therefore we don't totally feel like "I could be him."

(Unless of course you are a scientist in the army reading this. Then nevermind.)

-These aren't vampires. They're more like rabid-monster-human-thingies. They look like the monsters in The Descent, but those were a bit creepier given they were actors and next to the star, we really felt threatened. Here, they are 100% CGI. Here's a question- Why are scary humanoid monsters always bald? Someone tell me please.

-One of the things I loved in the book is that Neville's former friends, who are now infected, use their knowledge of him to taunt him night after night. It makes fr a real sense of dread. Here, there's no such antagonist. The closest we get is one angry (and clever) monster who is hell bent on getting the good Dr., but we never learn what 'its' agenda is.

-The Neville in the book goes around killing vampires by day. That adds to their dissatisfaction with him- and why they don't just want his blood- they want him gone in "their world." Here....none of that.

However, on a positive note, yes there's action, yes there's a few good jumps in your seat, yes, Smith is awesome, yes there's a whole lot of exploding going on. If that's your thing you might enjoy this. So if you plan to read the book- my advice is don't do it before the movie. Then again that's usually true.

There's so much more, but I'll close for now. Wanted to give my comrades on this board the news first before I begin writing a full review for an outside website.

[Hero1]

I Am Legend is a stark and stunning reality check nightmare portrait of a destroyed world, as Neville roams the dangerous urban wilderness that is now Manhattan, dodging carnivorous creatures, with a rifle in tow. And with his trusty German Shepherd Samantha as his sole companion, lending desperate new meaning to the notion of man's best friend. Will Smith's astounding performance as he carries the grim weight of this epic ordeal on his shoulders solo, is never less than physically, psychologically and emotionally shattering from moment to gripping moment. Give the man an Oscar and a stiff drink.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20071206172012t...ie-Reviews.html

[MaxFly]

So guys, do you see why I said that some of those criticisms in the article that Mr. K posted seemed illigitimate?

Again, here's what that review said.

Smith lacks any credibility as a scientist, however many times we see him in the lab working on a cure for the virus, and even less so as one of those rare scientist-slash-soldiers who is as skilled with various forms of firearms as he is with genetics. Smith tries hard to embellish the character with a range of emotions as he deals with the grief of being separated from his wife and child to going completely mad from being isolated for so long, but this isn't Smith's best work and often, the dog companion out-acts his master, showing why it's so important to have a decent supporting cast... and I'm not just talking about another one of your cute kids either, Mr. Smith!

And here are a few of the other reviews...

Neville's already begun a descent into madness. Smith is shockingly good at this -- I was amazed to see him in person at the press day and compare the youthful, full-of-life reality (I swear, the guy doesn't age) to the older, broken Neville of the film. It's an impressive development for an actor who can turn out one-liners with the best of them to get to the level of loneliness he does here, talking to himself and wandering the city. The Will Smith charm is turned on it's ear and there's maybe no else we'd feel as bad for being the last man on Earth.

"I Am Legend" is a drama and Will Smith hits this one out of the park. It's not easy for a former rapper from Philly to play a guy living alone with a dog and have the audience sympathize with him, but it works. Sure he sheds a few tears, but they seem genuine and not like someone off camera held an onion under his eye. You feel for the guy because he feels helpless, feels he can't save mankind and has lost his wife and child.

Will Smith is absolutely engrossing and I can’t believe I so highly enjoyed a performance of his. When Neville’s “system” is disrupted (I won’t spoil it for you), he pulls out no emotional stops. There is a particular scene in a record store, just past the halfway mark, that had me gaping in horror and in tears. It’s perhaps Smith’s most glorious performance of his career and worthy of some sort of recognition. Throughout the film, the subtle twitches of his face and the desperation in his eyes contribute to realizing a character bent on trying to right the wrong he arbitrarily helped commit.

Will Smith's astounding performance as he carries the grim weight of this epic ordeal on his shoulders solo, is never less than physically, psychologically and emotionally shattering from moment to gripping moment. Give the man an Oscar and a stiff drink.

That's a shocking disparity in perception. I know that people's tastes are often different, but the disparity certainly lends to the notion that the first reviewer was somewhat biased.

[Hero1]

Yep spot on maxfly.. Will obviously put up a good performance in this.. hater! wave em off :bat: