Usually, a lot of critically acclaimed films end up in a person's list of best films. Mine have been dotted with them, but I also find that some movies get overlooked or are criticized for being too different. With this one, many of the complaints I found were more anti-religious than anything, which meant people had more of a problem with the movie's message than they did with the actual movie. But I still remember when I first watched this movie, and I enjoy it to this very day. A powerful tale of loneliness, humanity, and what it would take to save it. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for... I Am Legend.
The Cast: Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville
Alice Braga as Anna Montez
Charlie Tahan as Ethan
Salli Richardson as Zoe Neville
Willow Smith as Marley Neville
Abby and Kona as Samantha
The Plot: The last man on earth is not alone. Somehow immune to an unstoppable virus, military virologist Robert Neville is now the last human survivor in New York City and maybe the world. Mutant plague victims lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find an antidote using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time.
The Review:
Nothing special, but I love how in the opening they talk about the Cubs being a possible World Series champ. Of course, I know full well we're still a long way away from that
The ticker on the bottom of the news sequence is very, very cool. Almost prophetic at times.
The news sequence is a cool idea. A cure for cancer? Mankind would celebrate the hope of a better future.
3 years later: Hmm... maybe the whole "cure" thing didn't go as well as we'd hoped.
The desolate sprawl of urban New York is impressive and forbidding at the same time. Provides an interesting but eerie backdrop to the film.
That is an awesome car. Ford 500 GT, if I'm right.
I'm a big German Shepherd fan, so you know I love Sam.
Anyone notice the Superman/Batman poster in Times Square? Pity it never happened.
I love how the film only tells you bits and pieces at first. Obviously something has gone very wrong and you have a good idea what, but you're not sure how it all went down.
A unique aspect of the film is how they show Robert's lifestyle. Even though he seems perfectly normal, you wonder if he's completely sane.
Another point would be his routine, as you can see how typical all of this is to him. It's all very routine, though to us it's very weird. Of course, we eventually find out why.
The film may be an action film, but it possesses more than one scare.
The scene in the video store is a little creepy, as we realize just how lonely Robert is, and what it's driven him to.
As the movie progresses, we see how the virus affected every aspect of life, and how we reacted. It's more than a little disturbing.
when Sam runs into the dark after the deer, our anxiety surges, as we know something very bad has happened, maybe to someone we've begun to bond to.
Our first encounter with the Darkseekers is little unnerving. Not because of what they do, but because of how they act. They're very animalistic and savage, just mindless predators.
Will Smith's performance in the movie is an excellent one. The whole film is on his shoulders, and he succeeds wonderfully.
The properties of a Darkseeker are cool and unusual: high body temperature, hyperventilation, total hair loss, and sensitivity to UV rays. I don't know a film with such creatures besides this one.
The flashback sequences get more interesting the further along we get, as they reveal more of Robert's past and why he is who he is.
The score is a pretty good one, composed by the famous James Newton Howard. The main theme of the movie is a simplistic, yet very beautiful one.
Robert's reaction to there being a possible human being still alive is intense and emotional, as we see how desperately he wants it to end, how he wants to no longer be alone.
The second Darkseeker sequence is far more intense, even though we knew they were going to appear. The tension and atmosphere is perfect, as we fear what is inevitably going to come.
Well, maybe we didn't see Sam getting hurt so badly. Obviously, this film is not a feel-good film.
Robert's desperation to save Sam is futile, and therefore heartbreaking. She is the last surviving member of his family, and he is desperate to save her.
What's worse than infecting the lead canine of a film? Having the main lead be forced to kill said canine. Man, this scene is depressing.
With Sam gone, Robert's last grip on his sanity is lost, as well as his ties to the civilized world. Everything he knew and loved is now completely gone, and he is totally alone. Now, he has no point in living.
Though the Darkseekers are bloodthirsty killers, they do possess a form of pack mentality, with an alpha male as their leader... and our film's villain.
And with the final flashback, we finally see what happened to Robert's wife and daughter, and what changed his heart.
For some reason, I love seeing Shrek in this movie, though I don't know why. Oh, and because more than one person has made this mistake, Donkey is played by Eddie Murphy, not Will Smith.
Robert's mealtime conversation is a little rusty. Makes sense seeing as he hasn't seen a person in three years. That, and she ate his friggin' bacon. That'll upset anyone.
Robert's clash with Anna shows just how hopeless he has become since the loss of his family, and to meet someone who is full of hope is too much for him to tolerate.
There is one actually humorous scene in this movie, in which Robert quotes a lot of Shrek. For some reason, this is hilarious. Or maybe it's the spasm of a lunatic.
Anna's story shows a citizen's perspective of the fall of the civilized world. It's a different look, and one I would like to explore in a different medium other than film.
Despite Robert's despair, his continuous devotion to finding a cure is somewhat admirable.
When Robert and Anna enter Marley's room, it looks exactly as though she had just left it. It's quite clear he has not touched it since her death, because it would mean associating with a painful memory.
Robert is right. Anyone who does not know "I Shot the Sheriff" is unacceptable. It's one of the funniest, yet hippest songs ever.
"The people who are trying to make this world are not taking the day off. How can I light up the darkness?" Now, is this just a movie quote, or is this directed at me and you?
Anna's reasoning behind her belief in the survivor's colony is meant to look insane at first... but the film does not let it stay that way.
Anna and Robert's ceaseless clash of wills is very interesting, as we see a despairing atheist against a hopeful Christian in a lonely apocalypse. Who wins?
the final encounter with the Darkseekers is the most intense and dragged out yet, with plenty of tense action and intense violence to keep you on your toes.
The Alpha male Darkseeker is intense and brutal, as he is a thinking predator with an intense hatred for Robert. If we ever came across an apex predator that wanted us dead for a reason, it'd freak us out, too.
...Well, didn't see that coming. He found a cure...
Robert's plea to save the Darkseekers is the most symbolic of the film, for a very good reason. But more on that later.
Neville's sacrifice is powerful and meaningful. Though he dies, he dies in order to save what's left of mankind: a violent, bloodthirsty abomination that wants to kill him.
The Bottom Line: I think this film is rather misunderstood, and extremely underappreciated. A lot of complaints that I've come across cite the film touching upon Christian themes, and claim that this is a gruesome flaw of the film. Some have even said that the alternate ending for the film was better because it is more similar to the book upon which the movie is based. However, I would like to combat both of these viewpoints.
Firstly, I actually loathe the alternate cut, as it is a complete contradiction to everything the film has said so far. Though this ending is more loyal to the story of the book, it is the opposite of what this film has been saying. In this cut, the Darkseekers are shown to actually have retained some social aspects of their humanity, and are beginning to develop their own culture of sorts, while Robert has been killing former humans in dozens of failed attempts to save humanity. The film ends with the captured Darkseeker being returned to the Alpha Male, and Robert drives off with Anna out of New York, the cure in their grasp.
OK, I know why some say this version is better, but it's really not. The first problem is this: The Darkseekers are bloodthirsty killers and feed upon everything in sight without cease. Not to mention the few humans that remained were all eaten by the beasts, so if they're supposed to not be as evil as Robert believed, the film sure didn't do anything to make us think otherwise. And to add to that, if the Darkseekers are not so bad, why do we need to cure them? Why not just let them become a new civilization instead of leaving New York and reversing the spread? And on Neville surviving and leaving New York... man, that is an anti-climactic ending. It just stinks.
Secondly, the negatives about the religious undertones in the film simply come from an anti-Christian viewpoint. Now, you may say that I am biased for the film's undertones because I am a Christian. However, no matter what you think, you're going to be for one side or the other. There's no middle ground on this issue.
Now, with that out of the way, I can finally talk about what makes this film incredible. Most notably, one of the last scenes in the movie.
The Darkseekers are attacking, and are in Robert's lab, trying to finish off possibly the last remaining humans left in the world. The cure has been found, but the Darkseekers are blocking the only route of escape, led by a vicious male that wants to kill Robert himself.
Robert is in a fever; this is the moment he's been working towards for the last three years, but these things are out to kill him, and destroy the one thing that can bring and end to this madness. He screams at them begging for them to let him cure them, to redeem them from their state of bloodlust. "You are sick, and I can save you! I can save everybody! Let me save you!"
But they do not listen. They are intent on their prize, to kill Robert, and no Darkseeker is more intent than the Alpha Male. Shoving all the others out of the way, he personally attacks the glass, trying to break through. In the end, Robert gives the cure to Anna so she can take it out of the city, and he sacrifices himself to kill the Darkseekers.
Does this sound familiar, anyone? Let me tell this tale again, with a little change of scenery. Think of a cross at the place of the skull, where a man was killed for trying to save humanity.
I Am Legend is the story of man's fall and redemption. In a lonesome apocalypse, the war for humanity's future is waged, and we are shown that we cannot save ourselves. We need God's plan, we have to listen to Him to know what needs to be done. We may not understand the plan, we may not always see it come to fruition, but the results are clear: Mankind was redeemed.
Robert may be a Christ figure, but he echoes what was done over two-thousand years ago.
"This is his legacy. This is his legend.
Light up the darkness."
Well, that covers it for this week guys, I hope you enjoyed it. Now, I got some bad news: No reviews next week, or the week after that, as I will be on vacation. However, come the 5th of August, I will be prepared to finish this list, and show the three greatest films I've ever seen. I'll be ready to finish it, and eager to show you what they are. Stay tuned, guys. I'm out.
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