I Am Legend
Another adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, already brought to life with Charlton Heston in 'The Omega Man', stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a lone survivor of a vampire virus, who busies himself with preparing for a nightly attack in a deserted New York City.
Reputedly the film contains one of the most expensive scenes ever filmed, where the Brooklyn Bridge gets destroyed to isolate Manhattan Island from the mainland.
- Director:
- Francis Lawrence ('Constantine', music videos)
- Writer:
- Akiva Goldsman
- Cast:
- Will SmithSalli RichardsonThomas J. PilutikAlice BragaParadox PollackCharlie Tahan
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressRemarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects, I Am Legend stands as an effective but also irksome adaptation of Richard Matheson???s classic 1954 sci-fi novel.
The Guardian
pressThere is something a bit thin about the story, and just as in 28 Days Later, I find that digital, rage-filled zombies halve in dramatic interest with every second that passes.
Stuff
pressAn edge-of-your-seat, gripping sci-fi zombithon that despite a dodgy ending is well worth the ticket price.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressThe mutants' arrival onscreen ought to be the big payoff, but they are curiously unsatisfying, mostly CGI images that look like they came from the standard movie and video game monster factory - basic uglies that howl incessantly and move with ungodly speed and agility.
Premiere Magazine
pressOverall, I Am Legend is a wasted opportunity -- a rickety, weather-beaten framework around an otherwise strong central performance from Smith.
New Zealand Herald
pressWhen it's only Smith, his dog and a desolated New York, I Am Legend is spookily effective. Making the sleepless Times Square look like Aotea Square is quite an achievement. And the opening parts of the film, flashing back to the epidemic and ensuing panic which has left Smith's military scientist Robert Neville the only living boy in New York, all inspire hope of something good to come.
But soon there are signs I Am Legend's sense of post-apocalyptic atmosphere is really all it has going for it. Then again so did MTV-graduate director Lawrence's last film, Constantine...
BBC
pressSome cartoonish CGI and a mangled screenplay that misses the novel's point are downsides but the apocalyptic vision brings definite chills.
I read the hype, I saw the poster, I watched the trailer, I heard the gossip - and then I saw the film! Yes it's got great cinematography, yes it has great effects that undoubtedly were very expensive but I cannot understand how anyone other than a manic depressive finds this movie any good. I came out feeling totally let down and depressed, and then you...
Men in black + resident evil - decent writing - good effects = this movie. Not worth a look. Just a typical Will Smith movie, using ideas that have already been used and trampling all over them.
As a pure entertainment 'I Am Legend' filled the bill, but, after having seen it's trailer, I was hoping for more. Films like this rely on the audience suspending belief and taking the ride, but I think the viewer can have a fuller experience when things are more believable, and this is when critisism of the CGI comes in. What ever happened to good...
My god this is a bad adaptation of a great story, i dont want to spoil anything but the original has a brilliant twist at the end. The original story looks from both the zombies and will smiths point of views, at the end you are not sure whether the so called virus is a virus or a next step in evolution and is will smith a savior or a mass killer. The...
Variety
pressRemarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects, I Am Legend stands as an effective but also irksome adaptation of Richard Matheson???s classic 1954 sci-fi novel.
The Guardian
pressThere is something a bit thin about the story, and just as in 28 Days Later, I find that digital, rage-filled zombies halve in dramatic interest with every second that passes.
Stuff
pressAn edge-of-your-seat, gripping sci-fi zombithon that despite a dodgy ending is well worth the ticket price.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressThe mutants' arrival onscreen ought to be the big payoff, but they are curiously unsatisfying, mostly CGI images that look like they came from the standard movie and video game monster factory - basic uglies that howl incessantly and move with ungodly speed and agility.
Premiere Magazine
pressOverall, I Am Legend is a wasted opportunity -- a rickety, weather-beaten framework around an otherwise strong central performance from Smith.
New Zealand Herald
pressWhen it's only Smith, his dog and a desolated New York, I Am Legend is spookily effective. Making the sleepless Times Square look like Aotea Square is quite an achievement. And the opening parts of the film, flashing back to the epidemic and ensuing panic which has left Smith's military scientist Robert Neville the only living boy in New York, all inspire hope of something good to come.
But soon there are signs I Am Legend's sense of post-apocalyptic atmosphere is really all it has going for it. Then again so did MTV-graduate director Lawrence's last film, Constantine...
BBC
pressSome cartoonish CGI and a mangled screenplay that misses the novel's point are downsides but the apocalyptic vision brings definite chills.
I read the hype, I saw the poster, I watched the trailer, I heard the gossip - and then I saw the film! Yes it's got great cinematography, yes it has great effects that undoubtedly were very expensive but I cannot understand how anyone other than a manic depressive finds this movie any good. I came out feeling totally let down and depressed, and then...
Men in black + resident evil - decent writing - good effects = this movie. Not worth a look. Just a typical Will Smith movie, using ideas that have already been used and trampling all over them.
As a pure entertainment 'I Am Legend' filled the bill, but, after having seen it's trailer, I was hoping for more. Films like this rely on the audience suspending belief and taking the ride, but I think the viewer can have a fuller experience when things are more believable, and this is when critisism of the CGI comes in. What ever happened to good...
My god this is a bad adaptation of a great story, i dont want to spoil anything but the original has a brilliant twist at the end. The original story looks from both the zombies and will smiths point of views, at the end you are not sure whether the so called virus is a virus or a next step in evolution and is will smith a savior or a mass killer. The...
Share