'Nothing worked the way it was supposed to work!' Will Smith rages from his solitary hell in I Am Legend, yet this remarkable sci-fi thriller works a lot better than anyone could have expected.
I Am Legend (2007)
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:140
Rotten:64
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: I Am Legend overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of Will Smith's mesmerizing performance.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:26-12-2007
Synopsis: Will Smith is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been... Will Smith is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been turned into an army of nocturnal zombies. Immune to the virus, military scientist Neville searches for a cure in his Washington Square townhouse. Haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan two years prior, he drives through the city with his German Shepherd, Sam, by day and barricades his home from the monsters nightly. But when Anna (Alice Braga)--another immune stranger-finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard. Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich's emotionally-charged script showcases the charisma of Smith, who commands the screen alone for most of the picture (aside Abbey, a talented German Shepherd). Director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE) uses music minimally, wisely allowing the eerie cityscapes to remain mostly silent. The set pieces, including an overgrown, deserted Times Square and a lion hunting a deer in the Flatrion District, are goosebump-inducing moments of stark beauty. Though some may question the rendering of the monsters in CGI instead of using actors, it does allow them to be frighteningly acrobatic. A chilling and effective adaptation of a horror classic, I AM LEGEND is also a thought-provoking piece of Hollywood filmmaking. [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan
Director: Francis Lawrence
Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman, Neal Moritz
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for I Am Legend
Even as an incredibly expensive hunk of eye candy, the film comes up surprisingly short.
Had I Am Legend kept its personal, human and contemplative atmosphere over the loud, crowd-pleasing whiz-bang action, these messages of faith may have carried more weight and heart.
I Am Legend is a scientific marvel - A must see on a cold winter night!!
For most of the way it's starker (even with the comic relief) and more eerie in its atmospherics than the usual big-budget monster.
I Am Legend should be a stark, frightening story of post-apocalyptic New York, but the film is shockingly never once scary, valuing countless overhead shots of an empty Manhattan over anything relatable.
Downright hokey...a billboard for a Batman-Superman team-up movie...will elicit more gasps from the fanboys than anything else.
If you like your science fiction with some popcorn-throwing moments, check out this post-apocalyptic story before someone spoils it for you.
Smith has the ability to make you feel he's a regular guy put into an extraordinary situation, instead of a movie superhero who handles such things as a matter of course.
Good enough that the mistakes it makes are genuinely frustrating rather than feeling par for the course.
Mind-blowing excitement, an expert thriller that really thrills and makes you think. A special shout-out for the dog, Sam. Now that's acting!
Provides a well-produced, if not necessarily fresh, version of the apocalyptic scenario, with the most haunting visuals being that of empty New York.
I Am Legend is a depressing experience. For everything it gets right, dozens of things go horribly, horribly wrong.
The movie ... seems to mutate into a clone of 28 Days Later since the virus not only has altered those infected ... but have transformed many of them into CGI figures ...
I Am Legend simply sucks but that's putting it a little too mildly when the last man on earth is liable to skip over it in favor of I Am Sam.
Feels like a false start allowed to run the length of the track. There's an effort, but nothing is really accomplished.
A film that obviously feels familiar, yet fresh and exciting at the same time
a captivating and exciting film because of Smith, but even he can't save us from this ending.
though a little too pat in its conclusion, the journey it takes to get there is no less entertaining.
Latest News for I Am Legend
December 08, 2008:
Will Smith Outlines "Fantastic Prequel Idea" for I Am Legend ![]()
Never mind all that stuff about the next "I Am Legend" movie being a sequel -- Will Smith gave the straight scoop to Collider recently, and outlined his ideas for the "Legend"... More...
November 25, 2008:
A Sequel for I Am Legend? ![]()
It's utterly unverified, but AICN has started a rumor that the upcoming "I Am Legend" prequel may not be a prequel at all, but will instead pick up the story of Will Smith's... More...
September 25, 2008:
Will Smith Is Still Legend ![]()
Warner Bros. is moving ahead with its rumored "I Am Legend" prequel, and has hired D.B. Weiss to write a script based on an outline by Will Smith, Francis Lawrence, Akiva... More...
July 28, 2008:
Weekly Ketchup: TRON, I Am Legend, Hercules, Red Sonja, And More
In this special edition Weekly Ketchup, the sequels, prequels and comic book heroes keep coming, as we have the latest from Comic Con. More...
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