All Hail Will: I Am Legend

So How Did They Become Zombies?

The setting is that of a desolate New York City, overgrown and bereft of human life. It’s nearing the end of 2009 and Robert Neville played by Will Smith, a military virologist who was placed in charge of containing the virus and the only one immune to it, is the one of the two living uninfected survivors left in New York City and possibly in the world. The other is his lovable dog and loyal companion, Sam.

As we progress into the movie, we discover, through flashbacks, that this sad situation all stemmed from a “wonder” cure – a “man-made retrofitted virus” that was created with the intention to save millions from the deadly disease of cancer. With its initial success, everyone thought that the human race was finally saved from this incurable illness. But they were all mistaken.

The virus mutated again, causing all humans who were infected by it to turn uncontrollably violent and constantly filled with a primal kind of hunger. The virus turned their skin transparent, revealing the layer beneath that and robbed them of all human emotions and characteristics. Luckily for Robert and Sam, they were unable to go into sunlight due to their fatal adverse reaction to UV radiation. This meant that they could go about their strict daily routine from morning till sundown without having to constantly look behind their backs. This also meant that he could stroll into CD stores and play golf from a fighter jet’s wing without worrying.

The Human in the Virologist

Though seemingly stoic and unbreakably disciplined, a vital part of this movie is Robert’s emotional struggle to keep his sanity and his battle within himself to fight loneliness due to the lack of human contact for three years. There is one scene at the beginning which truly displays his fear to the fullest and helps us to see how he human he actually is and not just one of those “super” human heroes that feel no fear and find it just very difficult to die.

The scene depicted that it was night and the Infected were just emerging from their caves. Though they had no idea where he lived and though there were fortified metal doors on all his windows, he still slept in Sam’s metal bathtub with Sam and his gun, ready to annihilate any infected human that comes near him.

Hope

With the help of his routine and his canine companion and some mannequins, Robert still managed to carry on living and trying to find a cure for reversing the effects of the virus in a lab in his basement. Everyday he conducted tests on animals and eventually on an infected human specimen that he trapped using his blood after discovering a “hive” of the infected in a building.

“If anybody is out there. Please. You are not alone…” Besides trying to find a cure, at noon everyday, “when the sun is highest in the sky”, he broadcasted a message over the radio, offering protection, food and shelter to anyone who may be alive and immune to the virus. This was something that would eventually change his life.

Fear

How he discovered this hive was one of the most frightening and best scenes in the movie as he is led to it while hunting a deer. Though you would think that he would know better than to go into a building that’s pitch black inside during the day, well he did. It’s just that he couldn’t lose his best friend, who ran inside in the heat of the chase, and had no choice but to brave the dark and everything that came with it.

The suspense was terrifying for this scene but let’s just say the computer-generated Infected are much scarier in the dark, waiting to pounce on you than when they can be seen. But then some may say, maybe this was intentional to emphasise the fact that they were still human. Whatever it is, being in the dark and hiding in shadows bodes well for them and the movie.

The Last Straw

Unfortunately, the Infected didn’t lose all their ability to think like humans, or at least their leader didn’t. They intelligently placed a mannequin on a road where it shouldn’t and couldn’t have been. In turn, Robert played right into their hands as he was led to Fred, his name for the mannequin, by fear, disbelief and a hallucination.

He took that one step into the puddle of water and found himself hung upside down. He blacked out and even though Sam was continually barking at him, he didn’t awake until when the sunset. Well, surely you can imagine what happens after that. We won’t spoil the fun for you anyway. Oh, by the way (we just couldn’t resist), he accidentally sticks himself with the knife he cuts himself down with, rendering him unable to run or walk.

So Was The Movie Good?

In a nutshell, if the movie’s leading man wasn’t Will Smith, we wouldn’t be watching it. It’ll be even worse if a young unknown who just got out of acting school took the role. The movie would have had “B-grade” labelled all over it, whether if it was deserving of the label or not.

The movie’s plot, an adaptation from the 1954 Richard Matheson novel of the same name and the movie The Omega Man which was also an adaptation of the novel, isn’t something new. In fact, most zombie movies stem from a deadly virus causing an epidemic and yada yada yada. But the effects and the unusual lack of music in certain scenes were that helped greatly to push the movie away from all sorts of stereotypes.

The vision of the empty and lonely New York City was breathtaking, though the impact would be probably much greater for people living there or people who have been to the state. The only thing that disappointed concerning the special effects were, as mentioned above, the fake looking infected. They weren’t as frightening as they should have been with the only thing noticeably disturbing were their over-extended mouths and the loud screeching screams they made. The movie relied on the suspense rather than the actual look of them to scare the audience.

What Francis Lawrence, popular music video director turned movie director with the movie Constantine, did that was unusual and a big risk was that for parts of the movie, he used silence instead of music to set the mood. He actually got this idea while viewing The Pianist at a low sound volume so that his newborn daughter could sleep soundly and through this, he realised the power of silence. His risk was definitely rewarded as it created a much greater sense of suspense as you’d have to listen for sounds to figure out what’s going on compared to relying on the music to tell you that zombie number 456 is about to devour our leading man from behind. Extra kudos to the man as this is only his second feature film after spending a long time directing award-winning music videos and visually spectacular commercials for companies like Gap and Coca Cola.

I am Legend, however, was too short at a run time of 1 hour 40 minutes and left a few holes to be answered. A short scene in the end on what happened eventually and how the world was saved would have definitely made the movie better as the narrative was way too short to answer any questions. Even a short roll out of text talking about what happened to the world would have been more satisfactory.

But Will’s One of the World’s Biggest Movie Stars

Smith does, however, prove that though he is immensely popular, so popular that he alone can pull US$100 million for each of his latest movies easily, it’s not a blind popularity. The past three movies he has starred in –The Pursuit of Happyness, I, Robot and Shark Tale – as well as I am Legend, are all of different genres and this truly show his ability to be versatile. The role as the last man on earth required him to be less talkative than usual and he did it marvelously, though even he felt it was a challenge for him, considering he is rarely ever alone in real life. His performance must be applauded and was the best part of the movie.

I am Legend is a must-watch for a Will Smith fan, a must-watch for a fan of all things science fiction but a maybe for a movie-goer without a particular preference for both. Though it may not be the best of the best in effects, plot or scare-factor and it may not have any art house appeal, I am Legend would be worth the $7-$9.50 if you’re looking for a thriller to shock you out of a mundane week of school or work.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Movie Details

Opens: Dec 25

Running Time: 100 mins

Language: English

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Alice Braga