The premise of Will Smith’s latest movie “I Am Legend” is nothing new, in fact the movie has been made before. One of the most recent versions starring Charlton Heston was called “The Omega Man”.
So by now you know the plot, Smith plays Dr. Robert Neville an army scientist trapped in a post plague NY searching for a “cure”. For the majority of the movie, Smith is the only human character on screen and he pulls it off. A lot of folks have likened this movie to Castaway and while there are similarities this is definitely something different. To me roles like this are the ultimate test of an actors appeal, there are no supporting characters, no comic relief, the success of movies like this are dependent purely on whether you want to spend your hard earned money to watch an entire movie about this one actor. “I Am Legend” proves that Will Smith definitely has that lasting appeal.
The movie has your cheap scares here and there but for the most part is an exploration into the mind of a man that is struggling to keep his grip on reality. Smith isn’t a good guy or a bad guy so to speak he kind of just is. I won’t lie when you leave the theatre you will still have a lot of questions, questions that are never really answered in the movie. A lot is left to inference.
To me in the end the test of a movie is would I go see a movie again, and I would go see “I Am Legend” again so all in all it was a pretty good flick. Smith definitely has a commanding prescence and holds his own. The story could have been a little tighter and a few more questions answered but all in all a solid film. And the ending, well let’s just say this blogger didnt see it coming, but it was…fitting. I give “I Am Legend” 4.o out of 5.0 stars.
