I Am Legend

For a while now, I've suspected that Will Smith is the greatest actor of the decade. His performance in sci-fi thriller I Am Legend might just prove it.

Based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend has already been adapted to the screen twice, in 64's The Last Man On Earth and 1971's The Omega Man.

Director Francis Lawrence brings the story bang up to date, though, and presents a gut wrenching, terrifying, thought provoking tour de force that will stun cinema goers.

The plot is simple. A scientist (with the unfortunate name of Doctor Krippen - played by Emma Thompson) has created a 'cure for cancer.' A retro-virus genetically engineered to do good instead of harm to the human body. But this rapidly mutating virus soon spirals out of control and infected humans across the globe develop violent tendencies, a taste for human flesh and an aversion to sunlight.

Within months, the entire human race seems extinct. In the centre of Manhattan, military scientist Robert Neville soon comes to believe that he might be the last man alive. He is left alone in the centre of New York with only a German Shepherd for company. At night, the mutated survivors of the devastating virus emerge from the subways, underpasses and ruins to scour the deserted city for prey.

Like all of the most classic horror movies, I Am Legend begins by establishing the rules. Robert Neville, holed up in a Washington Square apartment, is free to roam the deserted city by day, but at night, he must cover his tracks, retreat to his steel-lined apartment and wait out the darkness while an army of mindless vampire/zombies rule the streets.

His life is divided between routine - an early morning regimen of push-ups and weight lifting, a planned scouring block-by-block for food and medicine and the search for a cure to the mutated super virus - and diversions, intended to maintain his sanity. Each day, he visits the same record store, for example, and interacts with window mannikin's he has set up to give the illusion of human company.

Director Francis Lawrence quickly sets a scene that everybody can relate to. The familiar streets of New York city are a fine canvas to explore the loneliness, desperation and resilient spirit of Will Smith's character. It's his relationship with Sam, the German Shepherd who remains his only companion, that maintains Neville's tenuous link to sanity.



But like the greatest horror movies, the shocks come when the established rules get broken. Soon after declaring the zombie survivors of the virus 'totally absent of human thought,' Robert Neville finds himself caught in an elaborate trap set by the leader of the zombie army. As dusk falls, he struggles to escape and it's only the sacrifice of Sam that saves him from a trio of vicious zombie dogs.

But with Sam gone, how can Robert Neville survive the nightmare of being the last man alive?

I Am Legend brilliantly sucks you into the story. There's simply no way to avoid getting caught up in the emotional roller coaster. Will Smith, as practically the only actor in the movie, gives a stunning performance that yanks on every emotion you have. As his situation worsens - and despair begins to win-out over his resilient spirit - you can't help but feel your own pulse race in time to the terrified scientist's.

It's not a perfect movie, by any means. At the plot winds up, things start to get a little formulaic and there's a clearly spiritual message rammed down your throat during the denouement. But nothing can detract from the stunning visuals (a deserted, overgrown New York City) the blistering acting (Will Smith is incredible) and the emotional impact of the tightly worded script.

I Am Legend grabs you by the throat and keeps you trembling throughout every second of it's 100 minute run time. It's quite simply one of the finest horror/sci-fi movies ever made and I recommend it to anybody.