World Famous Comics: I Am Legend (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition with Digital Copy)
I Am Legend (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition with Digital Copy)
Starring: Will Smith, Charlie Tahan, Thomas J. Pilutik, Salli Richardson, Paradox Pollack Directed By: Francis Lawrence (II) Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Color, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: March 18, 2008 Running Time: 101 minutes Theatrical Release Date: December 14, 2007
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
Well-Acted But Also Dark, Depressing, Desperate and Dismal ... Can't Reccomend I just recently saw this film (in HD for the first time, having been too young to see the story in other incarnations and not a sci-fi fan in general, so without ever having read the original work it's (rather loosely, I gather) based on.
Maybe it was simply my state of mind when I sat down to watch, but rarely have I felt so despondent after seeing a movie. It wasn't the typical "gotcha" of a horror film, or the vampire-like bad guys that grossed me out, but the complete and utter bleakness of the tale.
There is a scene--and it's a small moment, early in the film, so I don't think I'm giving anything away--where a woman tries to give up her child to a total stranger, in order to, she hopes, save him. A moment that has been done in countless films, and could have been truly hackneyed, but was portrayed so poignantly and with such straight-forward emotion, it made me want to wake up my own son just to hug him tightly. I absolutely felt and believed the utter hopelessness that would bring on such an act.
Not to give anything away, but there is a later scene of loss so gut-wrenching (involving Will Smith's character's only companion, the dog) that I literally couldn't watch, even though I'm a grown woman who knows it's just a movie. (I literally put my hands in front of my eyes and said to my husband, "I don't like this movie" over and over. And I'm not normally the squeamish type.)
And, unbelievably, the story only gets grimmer from there.
This is a movie that kept me up for hours after watching it with nightmare-ish thoughts and a terrible overall tenseness. I had to keep reminding myself that things really were OK. And, no, I wasn't worried vampire-like creatures had overtaken the Earth ... It was just the film's pervading sense of desperation and bleakness that disturbed and, not to be pun-ny, "infected" me after seeing "I Am Legend."
In a way, that is a testament to Will Smith as an actor and his ability to carry and characterize a film. (He was good at it here, no question.) But, no matter how strong the performance, I ended up wishing I'd missed this one, just for own peace of mind.
Enjoyable, even if it's not groundbreaking Good movie that is part 'Castaway', part '28 Days Later'. Will Smith does a very good job, but at some point I feel like I'd seen it all before.
I Am Legend I'm not a huge fan of remakes, nor am I a fan of Will Smith, but I wanted to like this and went into viewing this movie with an open mind. First problem with this movie is Will Smith, he can not carry a movie by himself. If you're a fan of his, you'll probably love it, but not being a fan of his, I have to say he seriously lacks the chops to pull this off. Second massive issue is the horrendously awful CGI. The wide shots of the city look fine, but the lions in the beginning are just unbearably bad, and then when they finally show the vampires, that was just the final nail in the coffin for me. No pun intended. They just looked horrid, very poorly done. I watched both endings, and they were both very bland, the unrated theatrical version being the worst of the two. And while I have to say that the movie is very much watchable and not the worst thing to ever grace the silver screen, it needed a lot of improvement and a new lead actor to make it a worthwhile film.
Very Pleased Great movie. I bought it used and was leary of that. The movie came exactly as described, used but in new condition. It was exactly that. Shipping was fast and they kept me informed of all info that was necessary. This was a very positive experience and I will do it again many times in the future.
What If You Are the Only Person Left on Earth? Imagine going everywhere you used to go to, and never encounter another living human. Robert Neville does. He ends up talking to statues, and listening to pre-recorded news clips to remember what humans sound like. He broadcasts from a radio to see if there are any other humans who survived the killer virus. For a time, his only companion is his dog.
All this time, Neville has dreams at night that remind him how an out-of-control virus ended wiping out nearly the entire human race, and turning the remainder of them into nonhuman-like predators. He locks himself up in his home in New York City every night, fearing these predators.
Virologist Neville knows that he is immune from the virus, and is trying to make a vaccine that could change these predators back into humans. Will he succeed? Will he meet any other humans? Or is he alone forever?
I have not read the book on which this movie is partly based. As a movie, it is chilling and suspenseful.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
