I Am Legend (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #849 in DVD
- Brand: Warner Brothers
- Released on: 2008-03-18
- Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
- Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
- Dubbed in: French, Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
- Running time: 100 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbors who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time--and after enduring a personal tragedy--Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.
The film’s first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into bathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
the best movie
I love how easier it is to get from amazon. the price was to die for!
opinan of "I am legend"
I think it's a good movie for sifi buffs, but I didn't like the fact the events in the movie are not in order and time frames are missing
Will Smith, his dog, and his AR-15 try to survive after a devastating plague
Will Smith plays a US Army doctor who is one of the few survivors of a deadly plague that has wiped out most of humanity. Most of the people on the Earth simply died, a small fraction have reverted to a more primitive state and become nocturnal pack hunters, and a smaller fraction survived the plague more or less unscathed. This is a well worn theme that has been beaten to death, but this film is extremely well done in my opinion and a few weakness aside will take its place as one of the best of the genre. Will Smith is terrific as the doctor looking for a cure and some companionship in decaying NYC. He brings just the right amount of humor and grim determination to the role to be both believable and entertaining. The opening scene of the film, an interview with a doctor (played by Emma Thompson) who has found a cure for cancer that is the ultimate cause of the plague, is extremely well done. Her smug arrogance is rewarded as her cancer cure rapidly turns into a deadly plague. The first half of the movie is best. Will Smith wanders around a decaying NYC roughly three years after the outbreak of the plague. The CGI city is chilling: abandoned cars, collapsed buildings, weeds growing in the streets. NYC is returning to a more natural setting. Through this Smith, along with his trusty dog and tricked out AR-15, wander through the city looking for other normal survivors and trying to find a cure for the disease (he conveniently has a full stocked medical research lab in his basement). There are occasional flashbacks as we learn about the plague, how it progressed, and what happened to Smith's family. The best part of these types of films is how the main character tries to retain a sense of normalcy. In this film, Smith regularly goes to a video store to rent videos. He has put various mannequins around the store as other customers and employees that he talks with. As the film progresses and Smith finds a female companion, the story turns from one of exploration and survival into a mission to save humanity. This film is undone a bit at the end as it degenerates into an ordinary lone survivor battling hordes of zombies type of movie. Even with an unimaginative ending, this is an entertaining and damn scary film, definitely recommended.
