I am Legend

Living in the heart of the Irish Midlands with what amounts to limited access to new releases to the big screen means that I am now relegated to reviewing DVD releases as opposed to cinema releases. I'm not sure if it's worthwhile bothering at this stage but seeing as this site is concerned with the things I've seen and read I'm going to persevere!

I had read a review of this film at the time that it was released and had also seen the trailers on TV and had decided that it was probably one that I'd miss. The review called it boring and the trailer seemed to make too much of an effort to make the movie look action packed, which is always a suspicious move to me. So when it came out on DVD we only decided to rent it as we've been starved of movies whilst we await the release of the all the Oscar nominated films! Call it a precursor to the glut of movies I'm looking forward to seeing...

This film surprised me. Considering it's just Will Smith and his canine companion for the majority of the time on screen, and what amounts to a very small amount of speaking opportunities I was gripped by this story. The flashbacks are perfectly timed. Just as I was beginning to get frustrated with the lack of information we begin to get drip fed the back story and a picture of what has happened and where our hero came from begins to emerge.

Smith plays Robert Neville - the apparent last man alive - who is somehow resistant to the virus that has wiped out the population of the earth or changed those who survived into flesh eating zombie/vampires. I'm a sucker for vampire stories so whilst some would dismiss this instantly as sheer nonsense I allowed myself to be carried into the story.

The premise is by no means new (The Omega man and Cast Away for example). But Smith no more than Hanks in Cast Away did an excellent job in drawing you into his story, building a relationship and understanding of his position and his pain and suffering. It highlights to me what a good actor he is.

The story moves at a slow pace which I didn't find boring. I enjoyed the voyeurism of watching his daily routine and part of me was annoyed when the story moved on even though it was of course inevitable.

I don't believe in giving plot lines and revealing story lines here so I'm not going to explain what happens. It's a movie you should watch in a quiet place in order to feel the tension and if you can't abide science fiction don't even bother.

I would recommend this one as I enjoyed it immensely.