I Am Legend

I have been looking forward to this movie for a while.  I was relieved that despite Will Smith proclaiming that July 4th was “his weekend” for movie releases that this film came out at a much more respectable time.  Sure, this is still an event movie, but the last thing I wanted was for this to be lumped in with the “summer tent poles.”  And after Pursuit of Happyness, I believe that I am madly in love with Will Smith.  Enough of that, to the movie.  Dr. Robert Neville is the only surviving human in New York City.  He also happens to be the scientist that was working to cure the very virus that wiped out the entire human population.  The shots of him alone in a city that has been reclaimed by nature are just disturbing.  To me it was a mix between Stephen King’s The Stand and Castaway.  He truly carries this movie squarely on his own shoulders, with only a dog named Sam for company.  Dr. Neville continues his research during the day and at night arms himself against blood-hungry mutated humans.  Even when everything is over, he still maintains that he can fix it all. I really liked this movie.  It never dragged or lost my interest.  You watch him begin to unravel and see how that much time alone begins to fray the edges of his sanity.  I enjoyed the way the back-story was revealed and of course I want to know more.  I want to know what happened to the scientist that started it all (played by Emma Thompson, with about 90 seconds of screen time).  I think that I agree with others that the infected should have been played by actual humans and not brought to us through CGI, but ultimately it didn’t make the movie any less enjoyable.  It’s definitely going to get a repeat viewing from me.  You should treat yourself to a screening as well and avoid the empty holiday fare that is so readily available during this time of the year.  Go see Will do some real acting; I don’t think you will regret it. Previews I liked:RamboSemi-ProThe Dark Knight (!!!!!)