In the early goings, I am Legend conveys some of the loneliness of being the last human around. The images of New York City devoid of people and activity are striking. There's a certain irony to seeing nature and wildlife take over this once bustling urban jungle. But because this is a big Hollywood Will Smith picture, the apartment Neville has is sleek, impeccably well kept and fortified with steel shutters and surrounded by elaborate stadium lights. How exactly Neville was able to build all this requires a leap of faith, I mean it can't be easy carrying those massive steel doors and stadium lights all by yourself.
Will Smith and his trusty pal Samantha in I am Legend (Warner Brothers)
Anyone who's been a fan of Matheson's book has probably by now given up on having any kind of faithful film adaptation. Last Man on Earth probably came closest because Matheson had been involved in the script at one point but asked to have his name removed. But this latest version, with a screenplay by Mark Protosevich and producer-turned-writer Akiva Goldman, leaves most of the novel behind as it pursues its own version of the last man on earth scenario.
For one, this new version of I am Legend completely perverts the meaning of the title, losing the clever, dark irony and turning it instead into something heroic rather than something tragic. In the book, the infected hordes are not animalistic beings with no trace of humanity but rather vampiric humans. The literary Neville tries to offer a scientific explanation for vampirism as opposed to the usual supernatural one. So Neville discovers a germ that causes people to become averse to sunlight, thirsty for blood and resistant to bullets but vulnerable to wooden stakes. Neville goes out on daily hunts to kill these creatures but what he doesn't realize is that there are some that have managed to control their disease and who have created a new society, a society that sees Neville as a monster that comes in the night to kill them (not unlike the mythic vampires of legend). In the end of the book (which is very different from the movie so don't consider this a spoiler for the movie), the new vampire society captures Neville and sentences him to death. Neville realizes that in this new society he has become like the vampires of old--a legendary, horrific figure that kills indiscriminately. But this new film adaptation avoids the bleak irony of Matheson's book to turn Neville into a heroic figure to be celebrated in "legends." Plus I personally miss the vampire overtones and was disappointed to find the vampire angle essentially gone.
I am Legend (Warner Brothers)
A director once told me that Hollywood does not necessarily want to only deliver happy endings but it does want to always end its films on a reassuring note. This means there can be death and all sorts of horrible things so long as the story ends by saying everything's going to be okay. In the case of I am Legend , Bob Marley provides the reassuring theme song. And that's the biggest problem with this adaptation, it's not willing to truly go somewhere dark and unsettling. That's why Neville's apartment is bright, cheery and hi-tech, not dark and dismal like Neville's apartment in the book. That's also why Neville watches and memorizes Shrek , it's so bright and cheery too. Smith's Neville is given a faithful dog to keep him company and he is never really shown suffering from his solitary confinement. His mental stress and sexual tension from forced celibacy is revealed in cute gags like talking to mannequins. All these things plus the film's choice of endings ultimately leaves you with a comforting sense of being able to survive the apocalypse in style.
Lawrence has a good eye for capturing the big empty shots of the city. But he fails to contrast the vast expanse of these shots with any kind of claustrophobia inside Neville's apartment. The only shot where he does convey a sense of the terror is when Neville and his dog hole up in the dark bathroom tub as the noise from the infected hordes rise. But after that one shot, Lawrence returns to brighter, more spacious images of Neville's apartment. Lawrence does have an occasional moment of visual inspiration as in a scene where attacking infected dogs are held at bay by an ever shrinking shaft of sunlight. But for the most part Lawrence doesn't invest his film with any kind of effective visual style.
Will Smith and new friend in I am Legend (Warner Brothers)
The make up effects for the infected look creepy and the creatures do display a vicious bestial quality. But what was interesting in the book was their human qualities, something the film only fleetingly suggests. Lawrence also makes the creatures superhuman as they are capable of scaling building walls. Propelling them to this level forces us to take a bigger leap of faith and does nothing to improve the story. All it does is to make for more impressive effects scenes of attacks.
Smith's appeal as a performer is likely to carry the film to box office success, something that he's managed to pull off with almost every one of his films. But those coming to see the adorable Will Smith of The Pursuit of Happyness or The Fresh Prince (like the older woman sitting near me who walked out), may be appalled at the gore. Yet horror and sci-fi fans will likely be disappointed that the film doesn't pack enough gore or scares.
I am Legend (rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence) was better than I expected but since my expectations were so low I'm not sure that's much of a compliment. I did love the dog though. Maybe if she had gotten more screen time I would have left with a more favorable opinion of the film.
Companion viewing: The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, The Night Stalker, Twilight Zone (Matheson wrote 16 episodes including Nightmare at 20,000 Feet )
